Police have arrested 23 protesters after members of Insulate Britain attempted to block the M25 for the fifth time.

Surrey Police confirmed a number of Insulate Britain protesters were on the clockwise and anticlockwise carriageways between junction 9 and 10 for Woking of the M25.

The protest was reported at around 8am and officers were called to the scene.

Both carriageways were blocked, but have since been fully reopened by officers who cleared protesters off the road.

Surrey Police said: “Lanes on both clockwise and anticlockwise carriageways of the M25 between junctions 9 and 10 are now fully re-opened after officers cleared all of the Insulate Britain protesters off of the road.

“23 arrests have been made.”

Drivers were advised to avoid the area while officers dealt with the incident.

Derbyshire deaths: Hundreds attend vigil after mum, two children, and friend ‘on a sleepover’ found dead

COVID news live: PM says cancelling Christmas is ‘very much not the plan’ – and third Strictly pro ‘refuses to get the vaccine’

State-backed loans being considered for energy firms that take on customers from companies that go bust

UPDATE: Two lanes on both clockwise and anticlockwise carriageways of the M25 between junctions 9 and 10 are now fully re-opened after officers cleared all of the Insulate Britain protesters off of the road. 23 arrests have been made. pic.twitter.com/1kYT8P8bAB

It comes after a total of 41 people were arrested in connection with the protests on the M25 and A1(M) on Monday.

The climate activists behind the roadblocks “profoundly apologise” for the disruption, they said in an open letter to the home secretary on Monday.

The group has written to Priti Patel, asking for “open dialogue”.

Related posts:

Police ‘deeply regret’ upset caused by shutting down Good Friday church service Amazon to create more than 10,000 new UK jobs this year Over 50s and clinically vulnerable to get second vaccine dose within eight weeks ‘COVID is still out there’: PM says our position is ‘challenging’ – amid warning over Delta variant in winter Hours-long queues for boosters for second day running – with lateral flows still unavailable online Why health secretary’s 200k Omicron case claim was back-of-envelope sum not a definitive number Mother and partner to be sentenced over death of Star Hobson Which foods are driving the rise in the cost of living, according to the latest data? What are the COVID rules across the UK and how do they differ between countries? Ex-student told to read classic literature after being convicted of terrorism offence is jailed Arsenal player’s yellow card sparks FA probe after ‘unusual’ bet placed Paralympic swimming champion Alice Tai ‘healthy, happy and thriving’ after foot amputation