Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace have accused police of acting as “private security” for the UK’s biggest carbon emitter after dozens of preemptive arrests forced the cancellation of a climate protest camp near Drax power station.
In a statement which was signed by almost 150 groups, they described the operation against activists who had spent months planning the camp near the wood-burning power station “an unreasonable restriction of free speech”.
According to reports, this comes as the Labour government faces difficult choices over the future of Drax, which, despite contributing about 3% of the UK’s carbon emissions, is classed as “renewable” and benefits from about £2m a day in green energy subsidies.
Activists from Reclaim the Power had planned to camp near Drax, near Selby in North Yorkshire, from 8 August for five days, in a protest highlighting its environmental impact. But on the eve of the camp, police swooped, arresting 25 people and seizing tents, fire safety equipment and wheelchair accessible flooring, without which activists said they could not go ahead.
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North Yorkshire police said they acted “swiftly and robustly to reduce the risk of unlawful activity”. But environmental groups said they are outraged at the action, which came as the country was elsewhere gripped by violent anti-immigration riots.
“Now we know what the police have been doing with their resources: preventing citizens from criticising a profit-making company which receives huge amounts of public money,” the groups said.
“The public has the right to express their views over how their money is spent. Gathering at a camp to express these views is not a crime. Police taking equipment to prevent this camp going ahead is an unreasonable restriction of free speech and is highly oppressive.
“The UK has seen 15 years of falling living standards, a cost of living crisis and decades of blaming migrants for the UK’s problems. But the real cause of our economic problems is the corrupt relationship between the state and corporations like Drax, who receive state support while profiting from sky-high energy bills, and who seem to be using the police as their own private security.”
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire police said: “It was our responsibility to manage the protest planned for the Climate Action camp in line with legal obligations. We also had a duty to ensure that people who work at Drax and members of the local community could go about their daily business as usual.”
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
