Insulate Britain will push its road blockades to new extremes if Boris Johnson does not meet its demands in less than two weeks, it has been reported.
The climate activists are said to be planning to announce on Wednesday a 10-day ultimatum by which ministers must act before they ‘unleash hell’ on drivers.
Mr Johnson will be told to make a ‘meaningful’ commitment to fund the insulation of all homes by 2030.
Independent estimates suggest the pledge would cost over £17.9 billion, equivalent to around half the annual defence budget.
The group have continued to cause chaos for thousands of drivers – including delaying ambulances attending emergencies – despite a High Court injunction threatening them with two years’ jail if they block certain areas including the M25.
A new injunction was granted to Transport for London on Friday allowing police to press criminal charges against protesters who attempt to obstruct traffic in 14 of the capital’s busiest areas.
But the activists’ leaders have told them they have nothing to fear as the authorities are powerless to jail them immediately, the Mail on Sunday reported, claiming to have placed an undercover reporter at one of their meetings.
According to the newspaper, an organiser told a meeting of activists on Saturday: ‘There’s going to be an action on Wednesday and then there’s going to be a press release that goes out that says the Government and police are traitors, absolute traitors.’
‘You have got ten days to make a meaningful statement on it. If not, we are going to come back and unleash hell.’
People who break injunctions face being charged with contempt of court, but are free to continue protesting unless they are denied bail as prosecutions can take months.
The organiser is said to have claimed Home Secretary Priti Patel had ‘backed herself into a corner’ as suggestions the protesters could be locked up immediately were empty.
He added: ‘We’ve essentially split the opposition, because the police, the Government and the CPS are all fighting each other… We can’t underestimate [sic] the disharmony within the corridors of power.’
Other comments reported by the Mail suggest the group, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion (XR), is bent on shedding its parent organisation’s reputation as ‘middle-class crusties’.
Protesters at Saturday’s meeting were said to have been told to wear ‘normal’ clothing and avoid anything ‘hippy or theatrical’.
At a meeting last month, a veteran of XR allegedly claimed the ‘Insulate Britain’ name is designed to appeal to ‘patriotic working class’ voters and that they are ‘actively’ avoiding putting middle-class spokespeople in front of cameras.
They aim to cause as much disruption as possible ahead of opening of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow at the end of this month.
Insulate Britain has been approached for comment.
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