Home Secretary Priti Patel has criticised “selfish” climate protesters who brought traffic to a halt on the M25 this week.

Campaigners from the Insulate Britain group stopped thousands of motorists after protests on the M25 and M1 this week.

The demonstrators, including some who had glued themselves to the road, were demanding Government action on home insulation.

Scores of protesters were held on Wednesday by officers from multiple police forces, and totals given by each force suggest 86 were arrested overall.

On Thursday evening, Ms Patel spoke out against the “guerrilla tactics” used by protesters which she said “detract from their cause”.

She said: “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy and there will always be space for legitimate groups to make their voices heard.

“But this Government will not stand by and allow a small minority of selfish protesters to cause significant disruption to the lives and livelihoods of the hard-working majority.

“The guerrilla tactics used by Insulate Britain detract from their cause and I know the public will agree that the scenes on the M25 this week were completely unacceptable.”

Insulate Britain said 89 of its members took part in the demonstration on Wednesday.

It said in a statement: “We demand credible action now.

“Proper jobs for hundreds of thousands of people to start the first real step – to insulate all the homes of this country – which, pound for pound, gives us the biggest reduction in carbon emissions.

“It is a total no-brainer and yet this Government refuses to get on with the job. This is criminal negligence.”