Correspondence concerning the M25 Just Stop Oil protest

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.028056

I note you seek access to the following information:

Could I request the incident report and any related meeting minutes concerning the M25 Just Stop Oil (Alfred Beswick) protest:
*How the incident was approached i.e. what were the concerns and processes.
* were any arrests made and what legislation was used.
* Were there any notable improvements to be made on how the incident was delt with or any positive remarks on the incident.

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

However, please be advised that no information was located in response to your question 1 therefore no information is held by the MPS in relation to that question.

Additionally, please be advised that your questions 2 and 4 are invalid under Section 8 of the Act as they are not requesting recorded information but are seeking general explanations. To respond to these questions it would be necessary to create information and there is no requirement for public bodies to do so under the Act.

Information is defined in Section 84 of the Act as 'Information recorded in any form'. The Act therefore only extends to requests for recorded information. The Act does not extend to requests for opinion, information or advice about legislation, policies or their implementation, or the merits or demerits of any proposal or action - unless, of course, the answer to any such request is already held in recorded form.

You may wish to consider the ICO’s guidance titled ‘How to access information from a public body’, in particular the guidance under the headings ‘How should I word my request to get the best result’ and ‘Information dos and don’ts’ which is available via the following link: ICO - Official Information for the public

Please see the disclosure section below for information that has been located and assessed as suitable for disclosure.

Q1 - Could I request the incident report and any related meeting minutes concerning the M25 Just Stop Oil (Alfred Beswick) protest?

The MPS do not hold an incident report or minutes relevant to your request. Officers used logs to record their planning.

Q2 - How the incident was approached i.e. what were the concerns and processes?

This is not a valid question under the Act (as explained in the ‘above’). However, I can inform you that our response was planned using authorised professional practice (APP) principles. Guidance on APP is readily available on the College of Policing website. To assist and for your convenience you can access this direct at the following link: College of Policing - APP (authorised professional practice)

Q3 - Were any arrests made and what legislation was used.

Please see table below:

Total arrests relating to the M25	61
Arrests under Section 1 Criminal Law Act 1977 (conspiracy to cause public nuisance)	18
Arrests under Section 78 Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (causing a public nuisance)	43
Total arrests from or near the M25	50
Total arrests from elsewhere	11
Total arrests from 08/11/2022	14

Q4 - Were there any notable improvements to be made on how the incident was dealt with or any positive remarks on the incident?

This is not a valid question under the Act (as outlined ‘above’ of this response). A debrief was held on 01/12/2022 to identify organisational learning and best practice.