Just Stop Oil: Climate protest group 'enter negotiations' with Met Police - after long-running road marches

Just Stop Oil representatives have finally met with the Metropolitan Police and offered to pause its long-running protest action - if it investigates the government's new oil and gas licences as a potential genocide.

The Met Police has previously invited Just Stop Oil to meet with them to discuss their long-running protest action in the capital, which as of December had cost the force nearly £20 million. Just Stop Oil supporters caused significant disruption last year, particularly by slow marching on busy Central London roads to demand that the UK government immediately halts all new licences and consents for fossil fuel exploration and extraction.

On Tuesday afternoon (9 January) three JSO members met with public order officers at the force's Lambeth offices. The climate action group said the meeting came after a request from Commander Kyle Gordon that “Just Stop Oil come forward and speak with us, so we can actually work with them".

Just Stop Oil co-founder Sarah Lunnon, who was part of the meeting, said: “We met with Metropolitan Police to present evidence that by developing new oil and gas projects, the activities of the British Government constitute an act of ‘genocide by oblique intent’, as defined under Article 30 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court."

An officer requested a copy of their evidence, she continued, saying she told them she would take it to the Commissioner and Specialist Operations – which covers genocide crimes. "We have offered a pause on disruptive Just Stop Oil actions if this investigation is to go ahead. Negotiations are ongoing," she said. Just Stop Oil was calling on the police to investigate and charge "the real criminals" responsible for the unfolding climate crisis - starting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, oil giant and big bank heads.

Just Stop Oil supporter Eben Lazarus added: "The Met have told us that their primary concern at this moment is policing environmental protests. We wasted no time informing them that if new oil and gas licences are granted,  then not only protest but disruption and violence should be expected when the public are in danger of flood, fire, and famine. How will they uphold public order when there’s no food on the shelves?” A Met Police spokesperson told NationalWorld: "Public order officers welcomed the opportunity to meet with representatives from Just Stop Oil today. We ask to meet with all protest organisers, however JSO had declined our previous requests."

The force emphasised that the Met would remain impartial and operationally independent at all times in the policing of protest, and that it is not the responsibility of the police to direct government policy or decision-making. "We were clear that the disruptive nature of their protests has put significant pressure on the Met – both in taking officers away from policing communities across London and the impact on our budget," they continued.

"We also reminded organisers of their legal responsibility to notify us about any future protests in advance as this means we can plan our response and potentially reduce the number of officers who need to be deployed."

Just Stop Oil's comments come as last year was revealed to be the hottest in world history, with many scientists also calling for world leaders to urgently slash fossil fuel use to limit further warming. The UK government is currently poised to vote on a new bill which would expand oil and gas production in the North Sea, by requiring future governments to run run new licencing rounds each year.

The bill has proved highly divisive even amongst the Conservative Party, with one senior Tory MP even resigning so he was not forced to vote for it.