Just Stop Oil protester would support blocking her own mum from going to 'life or death hospital appointment'

A Just Stop Oil protester has said she would understand why members of their organisation were blocking the road, even if it meant their own mother would miss an urgent hospital appointment.

Speaking to The News Agents podcast, Indigo Rumbelow justified the actions of Just Stop Oil, despite the continued anger their protests generate among the general public.

Presenter Jon Sopel pointed to an incident when one road user said they had to get to a hospital appointment and the Just Stop Oil protester said: "I don't believe you."

Rumbelow responded she wouldn't defend that behaviour and that protesters will let emergency vehicles through.

Sopel then asked Rumbelow how she would feel if her mother could not get to an urgent hospital appointment because of a Just Stop Oil protest.

She responded: "I personally would understand why there's Just Stop Oil protesters blocking the road, even if it was my mum and that's because what we're talking about coming down the line, within my lifetime, by 2030, is billions of people living outside of liveable temperatures."

Justifying Just Stop Oil's protests despite their huge unpopularity with the British public, she said: "It's a moral choice that we all have to make and we have to decide whether we are going to stand up against a Tory government which is pursuing new oil and gas in the middle of the climate crisis despite the warnings that this is going to kill billions of people or if we are going to sit by and just pretend that we have no power."

Just Stop Oil have been staging protests across the UK in recent weeks, blocking roads and interrupting sporting events.

On Thursday, the England cricket team’s bus was delayed on its way to Lord’s by demonstrators.

Recent polling by DJS research found 51% of Brits have an unfavourable view of Just Stop Oil's tactics.

Only 16% of people said they had a favourable view of their methods.

Read more on Just Stop Oil

• What is Just Stop Oil? Climate-change activists arrested at Chelsea Flower Show (Evening Standard, 4 mins)

• England’s bus journey to Lord’s halted by Just Stop Oil protesters (PA, 1 min)

• Just Stop Oil activists charged over disrupting rugby final in London (Reuters, 1 min)

Just Stop Oil: What do they want

Just Stop Oil describes itself as a "nonviolent civil resistance group demanding the UK government stop licensing all new oil, gas and coal projects".

Its website says it is a "coalition of groups" working to ensure the government commits to ending all new licenses and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK.

The group was reportedly founded by people who had been involved in similar groups Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain.

Over the past few years its activities have included pitch invasions, blocking motorways and throwing soup at a Van Gogh painting at the National Gallery.