Fuel price activists and police have reached a compromise on the protest on the Tamar Bridge today. The rush hour plan for the “fuel riot” was not thwarted, but was modified by organizer Mike Isaby, as he announced an update on the protest page against the Plymouth & Saltash fuel riot on Facebook.
Initially, the action planned to stop the bridge and traffic and cause disturbances throughout the city. The new update shows that the protesters will be provided with a police escort.
There was also an agreement between the police and the protesters that only one lane would be blocked to allow some of the traffic to “flow”. Mr Isaby said the protesters would risk being banned if they planned to continue as originally planned.
Read more: Riot protesters promise to stop traffic at peak hours on Tamar Bridge – live updates
Mr Isaby wrote: “We will meet … at 4.30pm and head down the bridge in a convoy at 5pm, with the smaller group making a U-turn around the roundabout and returning to Plymouth. All cars must remain inside the lane and we will have a police escort behind us to divert traffic in the outer lane as we stop and take a position to prevent a collision.
“We agreed with the police to go down to a lane blocked on each side (inner lane) to allow traffic to flow slowly, to reduce the likelihood of emergency services being blocked.
“It’s not exactly what we wanted it to be, but if we stuck to our weapons, they would prevent the protest from continuing and get an order that would ruin it for such protests across the country, so unfortunately we had to to reach a compromise that works for everyone. ”
This comes after police warned they would take “decisive action” against protesters who are breaking the law. Earlier in the week, a spokesman for Devon and Cornwall police said: “We know of a planned protest to be held on Friday, June 24, on the Tamar Bridge.
“We are trying to engage with the protest organizers to ensure compliance with the current law and to protect our communities. We will facilitate peaceful protests, but public order or crime will not be tolerated and will be treated harshly.
“Officers from all over the force will be deployed on the road network on Friday, June 24, to ensure minimal traffic disruption.
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