After participating in a “go slow” rally on the Severn Bridge, a demonstrator against rising fuel prices was held. She alleges she spent 11 hours in a filthy police cell with “blood up the walls and sick over the toilet.”
One of the 12 drivers detained on Monday following sluggish driving on the M4 between England and Wales was Vicky Stamper.
She participated in a number of protests on Monday over the rising cost of fuel, which reached close to £2 per litre across the nation.
A leader of the fuel protests, haulier Tariq Akram, claimed last night that the British people were behind the protests.
Home Secretary Priti Patel, however, encouraged police to deploy severe new powers to disperse protesters preventing Britain’s roadways from coming to a standstill amid concerns that a Canadian-style “Freedom Convoy” blockades targeting London.
Meanwhile, how the police handled Insulate Britain activists and, more recently, those from Just Stop Oil, has been compared with how the gasoline price protesters have been treated.
After one police officer in Birmingham was caught on camera telling protesters, “I don’t want to put nice people in a cell,” the police were accused of using a “soft touch” with Insulate Britain demonstrators.
Former HGV driver Ms. Stamper, of Cwmbran, South Wales, has now alleged that she was detained for 11 hours after being arrested in “absolutely horrible” conditions.
The 41-year-old further asserts that she was “starving” since she was “allergic” to the curry officers provided her while she was being held.
And to make matters worse, she claims that after her car was taken by police during the protests, she was charged with a £150 fee to get it back.
However, Gwent Police retaliated today, stating that all of its cells are well cleaned before being assigned to new inmates and that officers have volunteered to bring up food.
Ms. Stamper, who has filed a formal complaint with the force, described her experience at Newport Police Station in the following words: “They refused to grant me a phone call to (my partner) Darren.”
“The cell was utterly repulsive.” I had to hover because there was blood and vomit on the toilet.
You’re being interviewed in five to ten minutes, one of the custody officers announced as he entered the room at around 6 o’clock.
But after that, I remained in the cell for an additional couple of hours.
She also claimed that she was “starving” because the chicken korma that was served to her while she was in the cell made her ‘allergic’ to food.
They brought me a chicken korma, and I refused to eat it since I had a curry allergy. Chili, garlic, everything.
They then handed me a ham salad sandwich, however I was unable to consume it due to a tomato allergy.
“Darren would have been able to come by and drop off food if they had allowed me call him,” said the woman.
Ms. Stamper was initially detained on the grounds that she may have violated a police order to travel no faster than 30 mph.
Since around 7 a.m., two convoys had been causing traffic delays on both sides of the bridge with stationary roadblocks.
The protest had begun at 6 a.m., with two groups of protesters—among them Ms. Stamper—convening near Magor services and on the England side of the bridge.
The Magor group was informed by an officer that the convoys traveling “up and down” the M4 at less than 30 mph would not be “acceptable.”
The eight trucks in the Magor convoy crossed the bridge and entered Wiltshire before turning around and returning to the Wales side of the bridge, where they were stopped by police officers.
Around the same moment, the other convoy was stopped on the England side.
Ms. Stamper said she mistakenly believed the protest would feature a stationary blockage on the bridge rather than a “go slow” while driving the Corsa with partner Darren in the passenger seat.
I was expecting us to come to a stop on the bridge, she said. I asked myself, “Where the bloody hell are we going?” as I passed.
The cops had given us a brochure, which Darren was reading. Just make sure you don’t go below 30 mph, he advised. I then activated cruise control.
Vicky claimed that she was “far out in ahead” of the rest of the convoy on the trip home from Wiltshire.
They were falling behind, and I didn’t want them to get into trouble for it.
I continued pausing to let them catch up while waving my hand out the window to get their attention.
Police stopped the convoy and took the drivers into custody. Around 11.30 a.m., Vicky was brought to a police station in Newport where she waited in the lobby for about two hours before being escorted to a cell.
The interview started at at 8:15 p.m. and lasted for roughly two hours, according to Ms. Semper. They questioned me on my role as the ringleader.
I responded, “I wasn’t; I just saw a poster advertising a standstill blockage on Facebook.”
“You told us it was a rolling one, not us,” I responded when they later claimed it was a rolling one.
We refused to do that because it would waste petrol and be unreasonable.
Therefore, the fact that we were utilizing fuel to carry out the demonstration made us look like d*******s.
In some cases, climate activists have been detained numerous times in recent months only to reappear and blockade oil refineries, roads, and even British national treasures like Constable’s The Hay Wain at the National Gallery yesterday and a replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper at the Royal Academy of Arts in London today.
Critics have criticized the “soft touch” approach police have taken against climate activists.
A mob broke into the British Grand Prix on Sunday at Silverstone, according to Martin Brundle, and might have “sliced them into 100 pieces” or killed a driver, fan, or racing official.
Yesterday, six people were charged, including Louis McKechnie, the mastermind behind Just Stop Oil and a John Lennon impersonator who has already been detained 20 times.
Police were criticized last year for how they handled Insulate Britain demonstrators who walked onto traffic lanes on motorways like the M25 and caused havoc.
However, as footage of police advising protesters to “just be careful” surfaced, it was claimed that they had a “soft touch.”
I don’t want to lock up nice people, another person declared.
Meanwhile, French police have adopted a slightly different strategy. Last month, footage showed police pulling demonstrators’ hands off the pavement after they had taped themselves to it.
The organization sponsoring the demonstration is “Dernier Rénovation,” the French version of Insulate Britain, which promotes building thermal rehabilitation.
Earlier this month, protesters attempted to obstruct traffic on the roadways once more. However, a video shows police taking the protesters off the road and away from oncoming traffic.
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