Just Stop Oil protesters were arrested up to seven times each during a month of road-blocking chaos in London this year.
Some members of the eco-zealot group, which brought the capital the roads around it to a standstill, were arrested multiple times this autumn as part of their uproarious demonstrations.
Official figures show that of the 755 people arrested between October 1 and November 4, 155 were detained by police more than once – just over one in five.
The Metropolitan Police has said those arrested are not able to be charged quickly as officers have to trawl through CCTV and take statements from witnesses before the matter goes through the courts.
A Just Stop Oil protester is arrested by police after blocking the road at the junction of Cannon Street and Queen Victoria Street in London on October 27
Just Stop Oil protesters Phoebe Plummer, left, and Anna Holland, right, threw soup at Vincent Van Gogh’s masterpiece Sunflowers at the National Gallery
Official figures from the force show that some protesters were able to take part in multiple protests, with one person being arrested a remarkable seven times, The Times reports.
The Met detained two people on five occasions, 25 people on four, 28 on three and 99 protesters on two demonstrations.
Of the 755 people arrested during their demonstrations in October and at the start of November, 112 have since been charged.
It told the publication that most arrests in the first five weeks were for obstructing the highway, a lesser offence that can only receive a maximum sentence of six months in prison.
While police investigated many of these offences, the protesters were released on bail, meaning they were free to join other demonstrations taking place.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told the Times: ‘We are determined to bring to justice all of those who have acted unlawfully and gone beyond protest into causing serious and criminal disruption to the public of London.
‘To date over 12,500 officer shifts have been needed to deal with Just Stop Oil activity, and hundreds more will be needed to process all of the suspects through to a court outcome.’
A Just Stop Oil protester is detained by police after being taken down from the Dartford bridge
The eco-zealots brought large parts of London and the South East to a standstill earlier this year after they embarked on more than 30 days of continuous protests.
This included blocking roads in the capital and climbing gantries on the M25 to force the closure of the ring road on multiple occasions.
One pair of protesters forced the closure of the Dartford bridge for more than a day, causing chaos on one of the UK’s busiest roads.
They also targeted some of world’s most recognisable cultural sights, with a pair of activists throwing soup at Vincent Van Gogh’s masterpiece Sunflowers.
Many were arrested and earlier this month the climate protest group claimed those who were jailed are ‘political prisoners’.
At a protest outside Westminster dozens gathered in Parliament Square before marching through central London, chanting their demands that the Government halts all new fossil fuel contracts.
They stopped outside the Home Office where they held up their iconic orange Just Stop Oil signs and a long banner reading: ‘No prison for peaceful protest’.
JSO spokesperson Indigo Rumblelow said: ‘We will not sit by and watch while the government imprisons peaceful people for conspiring to care, while they take away all our rights and freedoms, while they carry on torching the climate.
‘New oil and gas is the greatest act of mass murder in human history. Those who support this criminal plan are complicit in genocide. They will be the ones on trial in years to come.
‘Our supporters understand what the government and the police have not yet grasped. Your laws and punishments mean nothing in the face of the certain collapse of our food supply, our ordered civil society, our peace and security. We face the loss of everything we hold dear.
‘We will continue to resist until the government makes a critical U-turn: to announce an end to new fossil fuel licences in the UK.’
Last month it was reported that Suella Braverman would read the riot act to police chiefs and order them to do more to stop the chaos caused by the climate group.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was alleged to have called it ‘ridiculous’ that the eco-zealots were able to close down the M25 with their protests.
He is claimed to have asked: ‘Why are the police not arresting people?’
Police have been able to arrest anyone suspected of conspiring to a cause public nuisance with new powers under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
This includes those who have glued themselves to the ground, while courts have the power to impose sentences of up to 10 years in prison.
