A man furious at Insulate Britain protesters who formed a road block on a busy road has said ‘I hope your loved ones get cancer’, after he was trying to visit his father in hospital.
Traffic was brought to a standstill by the group of 30-strong environmental activists as police desperately tried to prevent them from blocking the road.
It is expected similar protests will take place during the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow in a couple of weeks time.
The blockade prevented the public from travelling on the road which prompted one angry driver to launch a scathing attack at the protesters.
One angry man told the protesters that his father, who is in hospital, cannot be ‘moved around’ because of the demonstrations.
He said: “Do you know what it’s like someone trying to get treatment for cancer and you’re standing like this? People are trying to get to hospital, of all places.
“If anyone gets cancer please let it be your family, let you know what it feels like.
“If anyone in this world gets cancer, I hope it’s your parents and loved ones and I hope when you’re on the way to hospital you know what it feels like stopping getting someone treatment.
“If anyone deserves it (cancer), I hope it’s people that you know. Scumbags.”
The driver even vowed to stop recycling in his own protest against the group, according to Mirror Online.
Around 30 demonstrators brought traffic to a standstill at Liverpool Street in London as police officers desperately tried to remove them.
Another driver told the protesters they were stopping him from working and asked them ‘are you going to feed my family?’
Police were later seen dragging activists out of the road.
One of the demonstrators glued his face to the tarmac but then told The Mirror he regretted his actions as he attempted to cut himself free.
He added: “It’s not one of my better moves. But it was to make a statement that things are fairly critical, I wanted to have an extreme action to reflect the extreme nature of the emergency we are facing.”
The Met Police have arrested 21 people today, while the City of London police have arrested seven.
Liam Norton, from Insulate Britain, said: “We know that the public is frustrated and annoyed at the disruption we have caused.
“They should know that one way or another this country will have to stop emitting carbon. We can do that now in an orderly, planned way, insulating homes and preventing thousands of deaths from fuel poverty.
“Or we can wait until millions have lost their homes and are fighting for water or starving to death.
“This treasonous government has betrayed the public. It is actively following a path that will lead to the death of millions - that’s genocide. If you know this and are not joining nonviolent civil resistance then you are complicit.
“We can’t be bystanders. Short term disruption or genocide - that’s your choice.”
The protest group said 61 demonstrators were involved in blockades in the City of London today.
They targeted Upper Thames Street, Bishopsgate and Limehouse Causeway.
It is the fourteenth time Insulate Britain has blocked a motorway or A road as part of its six-week campaign.
Tracey Mallaghan, from Insulate Britain, said: “I am gutted that we’ve had to return to the roads and irritate people. I am irritated too.
“I am a single mum and I don’t have time to read climate science and parliamentary reports, but I’ve read the Chatham House report and it’s terrifying.
“I understand, more than most, that money is tight and many people are struggling and stressed beyond belief.
“It’s hard to see the bigger picture when you are anxious about putting food on the table but stop and think for a moment. The people on the road are not your enemy, they are not the ones that have betrayed you and f***ed over this country.
“They are acting out of love to protect your children and people everywhere from misery, starvation and death.”
