Insulate Britain say they will pause campaign in open letter to Boris Johnson

Insulate Britain have said they will temporarily pause their campaign in light of recent comments made byBoris Johnson.

In an open letter to the Prime Minister, the campaign group said it would "suspend its campaign of civil resistance until Monday 25th October".

They have asked that he uses the time to "signal" he believes what he says.

Insulate Britain – an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion – wants the Government to insulate all UK homes by 2030 to cut carbon emissions.

It has blocked roads on 14 days over the past five weeks, with activists often gluing their hands to the carriageway to increase the length of time it takes for police to remove them.

Angry drivers often confronted the protesters and attempted to drag them away.

The latest demonstration was near a busy industrial estate in Thurrock, Essex, on Wednesday morning.

You can read the full letter below.

Dear Prime Minister,

“Owing to past neglect, in the face of the plainest of warnings, we have entered upon a period of danger. The era of procrastination, of half measures, of soothing baffling expedients, of delays is coming to its close. Inits place we are entering a period of consequence.” (Winston Churchill 1936)

Insulate Britain would like to take this opportunity to profoundly acknowledge the disruption caused over the past five weeks. We cannot imagine undertaking such acts in normal circumstances. But the dire reality of our situation has to be faced.

The facts are laid out by Sir David King, the former chief scientific advisor to the UK government, he said “We have to move quickly. What we do, I believe, in the next 3 to 4 years will determine the future of humanity”.

The collapse of the climate is happening around us. We face economic chaos and the breakdown of law and order in a matter of years. We will lose our incomes, pensions, and savings while passing on an appalling legacy to our children. They will be rightly furious. Around the world thousands of millions of people will lose their lives through slaughter and starvation as crops fail and society collapses.

Ahead of COP26, Insulate Britain will suspend its campaign of civil resistance until Monday 25th October.In light of the speech you made (to the UN on the 22nd September) in which you recognised that “We are approaching that critical turning point – in less than two months – when we must show that we are capable of learning, and maturing, and finally taking responsibility for the destruction we are inflicting, not just on our planet but ourselves”, we ask you to use this time to signal that you believe what you say.

We invite you to make a meaningful statement that we can trust, a statement that the country wants to hear:that your government will live up to its responsibilities to protect us, to defend law and order; that your government will take the lead needed to insulate and retrofit our homes; that it will ‘get on with the job’ so families can feed their children and keep their homes warm. We invite you to do the right thing, so we can be secure in the knowledge that our government did everything it could to protect and defend our country.

Yours sincerely,

Insulate Britain