‘I went to prison for gluing my face to the M25 and I’d do it again’ – My London

Louis McKechneys 21st birthday wasnt like most other students. He didnt get drunk or go clubbing. He was busy being sentenced to prison instead.

The Bournemouth University student was part of the infamous Insulate Britain protests which shut down the M25 last year.

The demonstrations triggered outrage among drivers in the capital, and ministers too. Home Secretary Priti Patel soon beefed up legislation to stop protests like it happening again.

READ MORE:Insulate Britain cost Met Police a staggering 2 million in just four weeks

Louis has been arrested seven times with Insulate Britain - so many times that theyve become a blur, he tells MyLondon.

That includes gluing himself onto the road six times in London.

After weeks of protests last autumn, he was sentenced to three months in prison for contempt of court. He and five other activists faced an injunction not to block the M25 again. They defied it.

He served half of a three month sentence, and has now spoken about his experience at HMP Thameside, Greenwich.

Louis said: I was sh**ting myself. When I got in, two prisoners came over, and said they had heard what I was in for.

Then they said theyd make sure my time here was as good as possible.

I thought it would be much worse - I got told prison is a place of violence, hardened criminals, and bullies.

Instead, everyone was lovely.

Louis says he spent time reflecting on his actions while in prison.

Far from putting him off protesting, it has made him more determined.

We cant afford not to take these risks. Id risk prison again if it meant potentially saving thousands of lives," he said.

Many voters struggle to see how shutting down the M25 saves lives. After three weeks of protests last September, YouGov found that only 18 per cent of Brits supported their actions, compared to a quarter who backed the group before.

Their tactics have polarised opinion. I ask Louis if he can sympathise.

He said: We dont like shutting down motorways - its not a tactic any of us enjoy. But its the only way we get the government to listen and get the word out there.

Evidently it did work, because of the hundreds of articles we got about us in the first few weeks."

For Louis and other protesters, public support isnt the objective. Policy change is.

We have to disrupt lives to save them. Thousands die of fuel poverty each year. If the government insulated Britains homes and buildings, they would be saved, he tells MyLondon.

The government has a dilemma. While tough protest restrictions may put off some less committed protesters, for those who see climate change as the fight of their lives, it will not deter them.

Prison hasnt put me off at all. Im far more willing to go to those lengths again after realising prison is no way near as bad as its meant to be," he said.

Its meant to be a deterrent - but it no longer scares me.

Im a climate activist. I want to stop the climate crisis because it threatens billions of lives.

The government says its policing bill is to tackle the changing nature of protest - hardcore middle class activists in the minds of ministers locking on to roads and public infrastructure.

Insulate Britain, however, says it is following the same model of the US Freedom Riders, and the Suffragettes".

Ministers will say it is unnecessary, and that Britain is world-leading on climate change, with a new target to reduce emissions by 78 per cent by 2035.

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For the climate movement, it is still not ambitious enough.

And for hardened protesters like Louis, the policing bill wont stop their tactics. Indeed, civil disobedience - breaking the law - is kind of the point.

The government is simply increasing the number of laws theyll be breaking.

Its a sense of moral duty - however controversial - that renders the legislation almost irrelevant for people like Louis.

Louis might be willing to go to prison again, but is he nervous about the legislation?

On the whole, we are scared of the bill coming in. Were going to see all our friends in prison.

But were not backing down because its bigger than any one of us.

Resistance to government oppression increases proportionally to oppression. There will be many more arrests down the line.

Policing bill or no policing bill, activists like Louis could spend their next birthdays in jail again. After all, it was not the worst birthday Ive had, he says.

All six of his Insulate Britain friends are now out of HMP Thameside. What are they planning next?

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is nearing its final stages in the House of Commons this month.

Got a story for MyLondon? Get in touch: josiah.mortimer@reachplc.com

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'I went to prison for gluing my face to the M25 and I'd do it again' - My London