Insulate Britain protester arrested for blockading the M25 is married to £170,000-a-year TfL boss
Revealed: Motorway-blocking Insulate Britain protester arrested multiple times for causing travel chaos is married to £170,000-a-year TfL boss in charge of keeping public transport moving
Cathy Eastburn is an Insulate Britain protester planning to ‘unleash hell’ on roadsShe has been arrested several times at blockades and with Extinction RebellionNow revealed she is married to Ben Plowden, a Transport for London directorTfL’s services have been severely impacted by Insulate Britain as well as XRMs Eastburn also has allowed activist David McKenny to stay at their £1.5million South London family home
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An Insulate Britain protester arrested for blocking the M25 is the wife of a Transport for London director, it has been revealed.
Cathy Eastburn, 54, has vowed to ‘unleash hell’ on drivers even though her husband is public transport boss Benedict Plowden, 58.
Ms Eastburn has been arrested several times during M25 blockades with fringe group Insulate Britain and for other activities with Extinction Rebellion.
Her antics recently became the subject of a High Court injunction by TfL which means she could be jailed if she attempts to join a blockade again.
And £170,000-a-year Mr Plowden, who was charged with the Covid Restart and Recovery Scheme, has also been accused of ‘harbouring’ another eco-extremist in the South London home the couple share.
Cathy Eastburn glued herself to the roof of a DLR train at London’s Canary Wharf station in 2019
An Insulate Britain protester arrested for blocking the M25 is married to Benedict Plowden, a Transport for London director in charge of public transport Covid recovery scheme
The arrangement has been called ‘staggeringly inappropriate’, The Sun reported.
Cambridge philosophy graduate Ms Eastburn has become one of Britain’s most prolific climate change activists.
She was apprehended four times in nine days as protesters from the campaign group blocked London‘s Orbital Motorway last week.
But even the sound therapist was surprised by the lack of police action. While protesting she set her out-of-office email to: ‘If you’re reading this, it is because I have been arrested and possibly put in prison on remand.’
But Ms Eastburn was released without charge without being interviewed each time she was arrested.
Cathy Eastburn, 54, has vowed to ‘unleash hell’ on drivers even though her husband is public transport boss Benedict Plowden, 58
She told the Sunday Times she thought her actions were ‘proportionate’ because forcing drivers to sit in traffic for hours was ‘incomparable to the kind of chaos that’s coming down the track – major flooding and major food shortages’.
Mr Plowden meanwhile has been tasked with ‘getting London moving after the pandemic’, though last night it emerged he was leaving his post.
He has held a number of senior roles at TfL since joining in 2004, including Director of Borough Partnerships and Director of Strategy and Planning in Surface Transport.
Mr Plowden does have his own green credentials as well, described as a ‘leading environmental campaigner’ he founded climate group Living Streets which works to create a better walking environment across the country.
Ms Eastburn is taken away by police after her DLR stunt for Extinction Rebellion in 2019
Ms Eastburn was apprehended four times in nine days as protesters from the campaign group blocked London ‘s Orbital Motorway last week. Pictured: Being arrested in 2019
The £1.5million South London home he shares with Ms Eastburn is believed to have been used by activist David McKenny, 38, with whom Ms Eastburn pledged to ‘unleash hell’ on innocent drivers in the run up to next month’s COP26 climate summit.
Last night the couple were blasted by Tory MP and transport select committee member Greg Smith.
‘Insulate Britain has caused untold misery for individuals and businesses over recent weeks,’ he told The Sun.
‘It is an absolute kick in the teeth that someone senior in TfL — an arm of the British state — has been harbouring them in their house. This is unacceptable.’
London mayor Sadiq Khan, who oversees TfL, has previously accused Insulate Britain of risking people lives on busy roads.
‘You’re endangering your own life, you’re endangering the lives of those on the M25,’ he said previously.
‘They could be people rushing to get to a hospital, it could be they’re going to an appointment, and you’re jeopardising their safety by jumping in front of cars.’