Insulate Britain blocks Dover Port causing long queues

Climate protesters are demanding homes be fitted with more eco-friendly insulation

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  Insulate Britain protesters block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover. PA

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  Insulate Britain said more than 40 of its supporters have blocked the road. PA

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  Protestors have also caused chaos on the M25 five times in the past fortnight. They have been threatened with imprisonment if they return. PA

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  Long queues of traffic form as access to the port is blocked. PA

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  Protesters sit on top of a vehicle as they block the A20 in Kent. PA

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  Protesters sit in the middle of the road preventing traffic from passing through. PA

Climate activists have blocked the entrance to the Port of Dover in Kent in a protest aimed at pressuring the government to insulate and retrofit homes to cut climate emissions.

Around 40 protesters from Insulate Britain stopped traffic on the A20 from reaching Europe’s busiest ferry port on Friday, which led to traffic jams.

Drivers attempting to cross the English Channel were left with no choice but to join a queue of vehicles.

Earlier this week the group, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, held a demonstration outside the Home Office’s Westminster headquarters.

The protestors have also caused chaos on the M25 five times in the past fortnight and have been threatened with imprisonment if they return.

A spokesperson for the group said: “We are blocking Dover this morning to highlight that fuel poverty is killing people in Dover and across the UK.

“We need a Churchillian response: we must tell the truth about the urgent horror of the climate emergency.

“Change at the necessary speed and scale requires economic disruption.

“We wish it wasn’t true, but it is.

“It’s why the 2000 fuel protests got a U-turn in policy and gave (Tony) Blair his biggest challenge as prime minister.”

The Port of Dover said: “Port of Dover confirms protesters are currently blocking the entrance to the port.

“Please allow extra time for your journey and check with your ferry operator for updates. The port remains open.”

Videos posted on social media showed some drivers arguing with demonstrators who had positioned themselves in the middle of the road.

One woman confronted the group telling them their action was preventing her children from reaching their school.

“Do you realise that you’re actually losing the cause because I would have supported you but I’ve got children who are supposed to be going to school,” she told them.

“Education is far more important than this right now. Right this second you’re actually losing respect.”

She demanded they “get up, move on” and urged them to take their protest to the pavement instead.

Police arrested 17 protesters, the BBC reported.