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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Ross Lydall

Insulate Britain: M25 protester is married to Transport for London boss

Last month Cathy Eastburn was involved in stunts on the M25 and at Heathrow for Insulate Britain

(Picture: Nigel Howard)

An Insulate Britain protester who had to be removed by police from the roof of a DLR train was revealed on Tuesday to be the wife of a Transport for London boss.

Cathy Eastburn, 54, has also been arrested several times for blocking the M25 and is reportedly one of Britain’s most prolific climate activists.

Her husband Ben Plowden, 58, was a director in TfL’s surface transport team and previously a leading environmental campaigner with the charity Living Streets. In 2019, she was twice arrested taking part in Extinction Rebellion protests, including an incident when she glued herself to a DLR train, The Sun reported.

Last month she was involved in similar stunts on the M25 and at Heathrow for Insulate Britain.

Mr Plowden has spent the past 20 years as a TfL director and most recently has been overseeing plans to adapt its buildings to changing work practices resulting from the pandemic.

TfL said on Tuesday that he was leaving the organisation at the end of the month. His departure is said to be unrelated to the revelations about his wife.

A TfL spokeswoman said: “We do not comment on the activities of the families of our staff.”

The High Court was on Tuesday set to review injunctions issued over the past fortnight preventing protesters targeting the M25, TfL red routes and the Port of Dover.

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