A LOCAL MP has slammed protestors who blocked a motorway leading to a woman being paralysed after a stroke.

Climate activist group Insulate Britain blocked the M25 for the fourth time this morning (September 20), causing traffic chaos.

This comes after their protest last week prevented a woman, who was suffering from a stroke, from getting to hospital.

Two political figures, MP Caroline Lucas and Natalie Bennett, have shown support for the protests.

But Caroline Nokes, MP for Romsey and Southampton North, said the group caused "the callous dismissal of a woman's life".

She told the Echo: "I was appalled to hear both Caroline Lucas and Natalie Bennett defend the protests which we know caused a woman to be left paralysed after a stroke, because the congestion meant she did not get medication quickly enough. The callous dismissal of a women's life was unbelievable.

"The stark reality of this sort of protest is they do not just inconvenience and disrupt people’s lives, they can impact health and they impact jobs.

"I have had businesses in this constituency explain they cannot fulfil contracts in London at the moment, meaning they will not get paid, in turn leading to staff redundancies. And it would appear that activists protesting about poor insulation do not care."

So far 41 people have been arrested in connection with the protests. Kent Police said officers attended at 08.30am this morning, and that several people had been glued to the carriageway.

Royston Smith, MP for Southampton Itchen, said: "This country is doing more than almost any other to cut emissions and respond to climate change.

"Protests which damage the economy and disrupt people’s lives are counter productive and hit the poorest hardest. Blocking the highway is illegal and if it happened here I would expect the police to enforce the law.”

Southampton Test MP Alan Whitehead said more should be done to insulate homes in the UK, but condemned the actions of Insulate Britain.

"The government's failure to put forward any meaningful plan on home insulation is a scandal especially in the light of rising energy bills people will be facing this autumn and winter," he said.

"However I don't think the protestors tactics in this case are appropriate and the action is potentially very dangerous to the general public and the protestors themselves."