Police will be given the power to stop “slow walking” by climate protesters under proposals unveiled by the government.

New legislation introduced on Thursday would give officers the ability to intervene and stop the tactic, which is widely used by Just Stop Oil.

It is used to block roads in a way that does not involve sitting in the middle of the street to stop traffic, which is illegal.

Last year the group changed its approach and deployed the tactic widely after several activists were arrested for blocking roads.

The legislation was introduced in parliament by statutory instrument and complements the Public Order Bill, which will pass into law after being approved by the House of Lords on Wednesday.

The new legislation will support the bill by clearly setting out what is meant by “serious disruption to the life of the community”.

The government says this will give police the clarity they have asked for on when they can use existing powers to break up the “selfish, guerrilla” slow-marching tactics used to halt traffic across the UK.

It also creates a new criminal offence of interfering with key national infrastructure such as roads, airports and railways, with perpetrators facing 12 months behind bars.