British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met police chiefs on Thursday and pledged to give them whatever powers they require to crack down on disruptive protests.
Ordinary people were having their lives disrupted by environmental protests, which Mr Sunak called “completely unacceptable”.
Police chiefs said they had a constructive meeting with Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Police Minister Chris Philp to discuss the “guerrilla tactics” used by Just Stop Oil protest groups.
“This afternoon I sat down with all the police chiefs to make it clear that they have my full support in acting decisively to clamp down on illegal protests," said Mr Sunak, who joined the start of the conference hosted in Downing Street on Thursday.
“It is completely unacceptable that ordinary members of the public are having their lives disrupted by a selfish minority.
“My view is that those who break the law should feel the full force of it, and that’s what I am determined to deliver.”
Chief Constable BJ Harrington, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for public order and safety, said the meeting showed a “joint commitment to tackling criminal activism while respecting lawful protest”.
“We are not anti-protest but we are anti-crime," Mr Harrington said.
"Police are committed to responding quickly and effectively to activists who deliberately disrupt people’s lives through dangerous, reckless and criminal acts.
Mr Harrington, the head of Essex Police, said forces were “fully prepared to deal with further disruption planned ahead of Christmas”.
Earlier Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said efforts by officers were having an effect and he was “absolutely determined” that anything going beyond lawful, reasonable protest would be dealt with.
But he also admitted that some trials might not take place for two years amid delays in the criminal justice system.
“We are currently giving the police new powers so that they can clamp down on these illegal protests," Mr Sunak said.
“They will have my full support in acting decisively and rapidly to end the misery and the disruption that’s being caused to ordinary families up and down the country.
“I’ve said to the police that whatever they need from government they will have, in terms of new powers.”
Met Police assistant commissioner Matt Twist said after the meeting: “The actions of activists Just Stop Oil continue to take up valuable officer time that could be better used in local communities and dealing with priority crime.
"That meant yesterday we had 180 officers taken away from their day-to-day duties.
“Indeed, since they started their campaign on October 2, there have been 46 days of action, which have taken over 12,500 dedicated officer shifts … equating to more than £5.5 million [$6.7 million].
“Everyone has the right to protest but some of their activity is not protest, it has been simple criminality, intent on disrupting London.
"We have arrested 755 people to date, and have so far charged 182 for a range of offences, from obstruction of the highway to conspiracy to intentionally or recklessly cause public nuisance."
Earlier, Sir Mark told the London Assembly: “Frankly, what I’ve seen is that Just Stop Oil have got much less assertive in their recent protests, frankly as a consequence of a large number of their leaders being remanded in custody as a result of our operations.
“I’m absolutely determined that anything that goes beyond lawful reasonable protest by creating serious disruption to London, by creating damage to property, will be dealt with robustly.
“That’s why we’ve used the more serious offences such as the statutory offence of public nuisance. We put the best part of 60 offenders before the courts at one stage for that offence.”
This week, Just Stop Oil protester Jan Goodey, who caused “mile after mile” of tailbacks on the M25 after climbing up a gantry, was jailed for six months after pleading guilty to causing a public nuisance.
Goodey, 57, was part of a demonstration on behalf of the climate group which forced authorities to close sections of the UK’s busiest motorway during the morning rush-hour on November 7.
In September, Goodey, from Brighton, East Sussex, was handed a two-year conditional discharge for obstructing the highway in a separate protest last year.
District Judge Daniel Benjamin said he had “flagrantly ignored” previous warnings that his conduct “was not acceptable in a peaceful and democratic society”.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
MWTC
Tickets start from Dh100 for adults and are now on sale at www.ticketmaster.ae and Virgin Megastores across the UAE. Three-day and travel packages are also available at 20 per cent discount.
Soldier F
“I was in complete disgust at the fact that only one person was to be charged for Bloody Sunday.
“Somebody later said to me, 'you just watch - they'll drop the charge against him'. And sure enough, the charges against Soldier F would go on to be dropped.
“It's pretty hard to think that 50 years on, the State is still covering up for what happened on Bloody Sunday.”
Jimmy Duddy, nephew of John Johnson
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
The%20specs
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
