Eco-activists rage at Insulate Britain in leaked messages

For the past month Britain’s roads have been held hostage by Insulate Britain (IB), the direct-action group spun out of Extinction Rebellion (XR). The favoured tactic of the eco-warriors is to initiate roadblocks at which activists glue themselves to roads to make them inaccessible to vehicles. The device has inspired much anger among motorists, with polling suggesting that most of the public believe it only serves to turn voters off IB and its green demands.

Now it seems many within the XR movement are themselves growing sick of IB’s road-block methods, amid scenes of ambulances being detained in their traffic jams. Leaked screenshots from one of the WhatsApp groups by which XR co-ordinate their activities show the rising irritation of members at Insulate Britain’s ‘incredibly problematic’ and ‘stupid’ stunts. Many within XR are now questioning whether they should continue to allow IB to use its Police Station Support network.

A whistle-blower within the movement has sent Mr S a tranche of messages from the past week in which the splits between activists are made clear.