Insulate Britain has admitted that its series of road-blocking protests across the UK “failed”, but has warned that its next demonstrations will be “more ambitious”.
The environmental campaigners – who famously infuriated motorists last November by repeatedly bringing traffic to a standstill on some of the country’s busiest roads, including on the M56 near Manchester Airport – has issued a strongly-worded statement today, and has insisted that “we’re just getting started”.
Previous demonstrations have seen activists from the group – which is calling for better insulation in UK homes – glue themselves to roads to block traffic, have ink thrown on them, be dragged off roads by angry members of the public, and spark furious reactions from drivers caught up in the disruption.
Announcing in a statement posted to its website and shared on social media today, Insulate Britain said it “must acknowledge we have failed”.
“We failed to move our irresponsible government to take meaningful action to prevent thousands of us from dying in our cold homes during the energy price crisis,” the group admitted.
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STATEMENT: WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE WE HAVE FAILED
“We are not heroes, we are not clairvoyants; Insulating Britain’s cold and leaky homes is the first no-brainer step in reducing our energy needs as a nation…”
“We have failed to make this heartless government put its people over profit and insulate our homes to do our part in lowering the UK’s emissions, we have failed to encourage our government to get up from their drinks parties, go to their desk and get on with the job, and we failed in getting enough of you to join us on the roads to hold this treasonous and corrupt government to account.”
Insulate Britain said it would continue its “campaign of civil resistance because we only have the next two to three years to sort it out and prevent us completely failing our children”.
It continued it its statement: “Now we must accept that we have lost another year, so our next campaign of civil resistance against the betrayal of this country must be even more ambitious, and more of us must take a stand.
“More of you need to join us. We don’t get to be bystanders. We either act against evil or we participate in it.
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“We haven’t gone away. We’re just getting started.”
The group famously brought traffic to a standstill by blocking the M56 near Manchester Airport last November / Credit: Twitter (@InsulateLove)
The group has claimed it will be “off the roads” if the government meets its two demands to help tackle the climate crisis.
The first demand is that ministers must “immediately promise to fully fund and take responsibility for the insulation of all social housing in Britain by 2025”, and the second is that the government must promise to produce a “legally-binding national plan” within four months to fund the full insulation retrofit of all homes in Britain by 2030.
Featured Image – Twitter (@InsulateLove)
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Ryanair is being investigated over charging parents to sit with their children
Emily Sergeant
Ryanair is being investigated by the Government’s leading regulator over charging parents to sit with their children.
Currently, Ryanair’s terms and conditions require at least one parent to sit with their children aged two-11 when they fly, but this is done through what the airline calls a ‘mandatory family seat’, meaning the parent must pay in order for them to secure a seat next to their child.
This fee applies to both outbound and return flights, and typically costs around £8 each way – but for all other passengers, reserving a seat is optional.
And it’s this that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation.
We’re investigating Ryanair over its practice of charging parents to sit with their children – including those with disabilities – and whether this could be unfair under consumer protection law.
— Competition & Markets Authority (@CMAgovUK) June 11, 2026
CMA evidence suggests this approach to seating is used across the majority of Ryanair’s UK routes, and the watchdog understands that Ryanair is the only major airline flying out of the UK to impose this charge.
Other airlines offer to seat children with a parent or guardian without the need for a paid-for adult seat reservation, or they allocate seats together automatically during booking for free.
The CMA says it’s investigating, in particular, whether Ryanair’s approach to seat reservations may mean parents are being charged for the airline to meet its child safety and disability‑related obligations as set out under aviation rules.
The watchdog wants to determine whether or not this practice is in line with consumer law, and whether the airline’s contract terms are ‘unfair’ if they put customers at an unfair disadvantage.
Ryanair is being investigated over charging parents to sit with their children / Credit: Gerrie van der Walt (via Unsplash)
Under consumer law, businesses must show a total price that includes all unavoidable charges, rather than adding extra charges separately or later in the process, as this ensures consumers can effectively compare prices and understand the true cost of what they are buying.
“Lots of families save up to afford a summer holiday and we know that extra charges can quickly bump up the price,” commented Hayley Fletcher, who is the Senior Director of Consumer Protection at the CMA.
“Our investigation will consider Ryanair’s approach to family seat reservations and how the cost is presented to consumers to determine whether they comply with consumer law.
“For the past year, we’ve told businesses to ensure their customers are shown the total price upfront – those who don’t face the very real possibility of action from the CMA.”
At present, the CMA is currently at the beginning of its investigation, and has reached no conclusions about whether Ryanair has broken the law.
Featured Image – CCNull
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Girl, 14, detained under Mental Health Act after stabbing at Manchester high school
Emily Sergeant
A 14-year-old girl has been detained under the Mental Health Act following a stabbing at a high school in Manchester earlier this week.
In case you need bringing up to speed, officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) were called to reports of a stabbing at a school on Plant Hill Road in Blackley – confirmed to be Co-op Academy Manchester – on Tuesday morning (9 June 2026), and when they arrived on the scene, they discovered that two students and a teacher had been injured.
A 14-year-old girl was arrested on suspicion of section 18 assault, before being taken into custody for questioning.
But it has now been confirmed by GMP that she has been detained under the Mental Health Act.
The three people injured during the shocking incident earlier this week have now all been released from hospital after being assessed.
As part of the investigation, GMP says it is are also ‘aware of and looking into’ social media posts in relation to the incident, but would like to remind the public not to speculate or comment, as this is an ongoing live investigation.
Offering the latest update on the investigation as it progresses, Jon Shilvock, who is the Chief Inspector of GMP’s City of Manchester North division, commented: “Our investigation has continued at pace since… we were first made aware of the incident, and our thoughts are with those that were injured and were caught up in the incident.
“Whilst the physical injuries were not believed to be serious, we know the impact to those that were involved or were witnesses to this will be significant, and we want to reassure our community we are taking this very seriously.
“As our investigation progresses, we are aware that names relating to the incident are being circulated on social media which are unhelpful for the investigation. This is also causing concern with the victims and those that have been impacted therefore we would stress that people do not speculate regarding this incident.
Emily Sergeant -
7th February 2022 
