This morning, Wednesday 8 November, protestors from environmentalist group Just Stop Oil have blocked the road across Waterloo Bridge.
At 9.30am today, a large group of Just Stop Oil protestors brought banners and their distinctive orange jackets to Central London. The group of 50 slowly marched across Waterloo Bridge, before some stopped in the middle of the bridge and lay down to disrupt traffic. Pedestrian access was never blocked.
By 10am a large police presence had assembled, with uniformed officers removing the protestors. By this point, however, traffic had backed up into Lambeth on the south side of the river and just as far in the north.
King’s students have been heavily impacted by the closure, with many unable to attend lectures and seminars on the Strand and Waterloo campuses.
A small sub-group later slow-marched down the Strand before they too were intercepted and arrested by police. In the end, around 40 arrests were made by the Metropolitan Police.
Update: the bridge is now clear and traffic is moving at the usual (still slow) London pace.
