A judge has granted National Highways an injunction against protesters who have been blocking parts of the M25, Grant Shapps has said.
The order, which will come into effect later today, means activists risk being imprisoned if they breach it.
“Invading a motorway is reckless and puts lives at risk. I asked National Highways to seek an injunction against M25 protestors which a judge granted last night,” the transport secretary tweeted.
“Effective later today, activists will face contempt of court with possible imprisonment if they flout.”
It comes after days of disruptive demonstrations, staged by environmental group Insulate Britain, who are demanding the government insulate all of “Britain’s 29 million leaky homes by 2030 and all social housing by 2025”.
Dozens of arrests have already taken place but the group told the BBC this week it had no intention of slowing down due to the “scale of what is coming with the climate crisis”.
“That forces us to take action,” the unnamed protestor said.
Before the court order was confirmed by Mr Shapps, home secretary Priti Patel vowed to use the “important injunction” to crack down on “guerilla” activism.
“We will not tolerate lives being put at risk,” she said. “Those who continue to do so risk imprisonment.”
Surrey Police arrested 38 Insulate Britain members after they targeted junctions nine and 10 of Britain’s busiest motorway before 8am on Tuesday.
Footage taken at the scene shows protestors walking onto the motorway, near Cobham, Surrey, and sitting on the ground in front of oncoming traffic.
Some then held up banners reading “Insulate Britain” and poured blue paint on to the road, before being dragged away by officers.
In a column published in the Daily Mail today with Mr Shapps, Ms Patel said the Home Office was working with National Highways to take legal action against the Insulate Britain group in a bid to “ensure they cannot keep disrupting and endangering people’s lives”.
The pair condemned the tactics of the protesters and said police have their support to take “decisive action” against any future disruptive demonstrations.
They wrote: “[The protesters] have broken the law, undermined the cause they believe in, alienated the public, and created extra pollution, in one of the most self-defeating environmental protests this country has ever seen.
“We are giving [police] powers to better manage such guerrilla tactics in future.
“In the medium-term, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will put public nuisance on a statutory footing, ensuring there are appropriate sentences for the harm caused.”
Sharing Mr Shapps’ tweet about the injunction, Insulate Britain responded: “The government is reckless and is putting lives at risk with its inaction on insulation.
“How many lives have been lost already due to poorly insulated leaky homes? How many will be lost because of climate collapse? #getonwiththejob.”
