A BASILDON councillor has blasted environmental protesters who shut down parts of the M25 five times in just over a week.

Insulate Britain protestors have been causing chaos on the motorway in a bid to pressure the Government into insulating all UK homes by 2030.

Members of the group sat in the road at the junction of the M25 near Lakeside Shopping Centre on the morning of September 13.

A total of 12 people were arrested after the incident, which saw huge delays in the surrounding roads.

Conservative councillor Andrew Schrader appeared on GB News yesterday to express his disbelief and anger at the tactics employed Insulate Britain.

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Speaking to presenter Tom Harwood, he said: “People who are just trying to go around their daily lives are having to negotiate these protests. You don’t necessarily know where they are going to be, where they are going to crop up, and so you can see the frustration etched on the faces of ordinary people trying to get around their daily lives.”

The Billericay East councillor added he believed blocking motorways was detrimental to Insulate Britain’s cause, because of the bad press and the long motorway queues affecting air quality.

“You know that famous saying, that no publicity is bad publicity, I think this whole business has seriously made me question the veracity of that belief. These tactics, they may have generated publicity, but it’s hard for me to get my head around how antagonising tens of thousands of people can possibly be good for any cause.”

The Government has since successfully applied to the High Court for an order which prohibits anyone from blocking the M25.

Anyone who breaks the injunction could be found to be in contempt of court, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison or an unlimited fine.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said the “important injunction” means “people can get moving again” on the UK’s busiest motorway.

“We will not tolerate lives being put at risk,” she said.

“Those who continue to do so risk imprisonment.”