Just Stop Oil activist, 75, says he will never quit protesting

Austen Espeut, a web designer from Chippenham, has been arrested four times for obstructing a highway in London and once for criminal damage to the doors of the Bank of England while taking part in Just Stop Oil protests.

He recently took part in a slow march through Chippenham town centre, which caused disruption to traffic on New Road and Station Hill.

While the climate activists faced anger and abuse from motorists and pedestrians during their demonstration, Mr Espeut says he will continue to take “necessary action.”

He said: “I believe it’s achieving something because it’s a really simple demand to stop licensing fossil fuels and that seemed a worthwhile thing to get involved with.

Austen Espeut on a Just Stop Oil march in Chippenham (Image: Newsquest)

“I’m absolutely concerned for my children and grandchildren’s future, and for everybody’s future, because I’m 75 and I can actually see the changes from when I was younger.

“We’re getting extremes heat wise as well as droughts, fires and biodiversity loss in the UK… it’s extremely concerning, and I can’t be complicit.”

Mr Espeut’s most recent arrest came in Parliament Square on Wednesday, May 31, when he was taken into custody along with 13 others for failing to leave the road in line with police orders.

This was followed by a march through his hometown in June, alongside around a dozen other activists, which lasted around an hour.

Maddie Adams, who travelled from Bath for the demonstration, said: “I’ve written letters, sent petitions and met with my MP, but achieved nothing.

Austen Espeut on a Just Stop Oil march in Chippenham (Image: Newsquest)

“Historically small groups of people with a very important message change minds and government policies, it’s a desperate measure but I’ve tried everything else.

“I think this is the only important thing because we’re headed for an unliveable planet, when I was 18 I had everything ahead of me but what have my children and grandchildren got to look forward to?”

Mr Espeut added that he understands why people are critical of the group’s actions but believes their protests are “necessary to draw society’s attention” to the dangers of continued fossil fuel usage.

Just Stop Oil claim 2,200 of their supporters have been arrested since their campaign launched on February 14, 2022, with 138 people spending time in prison as a result.