London: On Sunday, British police received new and expanded powers, including measures aimed at activists who disrupt major construction projects and traffic with protests.

Environmental protest organisations like Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion, which have staged numerous high-profile demonstrations at the busiest highways and roads in an effort to draw attention to the urgency of climate change, have been roundly condemned by authorities. In recent years, their protests frequently resulted in significant disruption for drivers.

Police will have the ability to move immobile protests starting on Sunday. The right to protest has been criticised, but UK officials counter that the measures were taken to prevent "disruption from a selfish minority."

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The general public has had enough of egotistical protesters upsetting their lives. The chaos we've witnessed on our streets is scandalous, according to Home Secretary Suella Braverman.

According to the authorities, protesters convicted of "tunnelling"—or excavating underground tunnels to obstruct the construction of new infrastructure works—could spend three years in prison under the new Public Order Act. Anyone found guilty of impeding a significant transport project faces a maximum six-month prison sentence.

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A violation of the law is "locking on," which is when protesters affix themselves to other people, things, or structures.

Last year, hundreds of climate change protesters were detained in the UK after they blocked important roads and bridges. Many protestors sat in the middle of the streets or taped themselves to the pavement to make it more difficult for them to move.

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In addition to glueing themselves to famous museum paintings or throwing soup at artworks to get the media's attention, activists have also engaged in a wave of direct action known as civil disobedience.

The protests, according to the police, were expensive to handle and took thousands of officers away from other tasks, like fighting crime.