At least a dozen climate protesters have been arrested after defying an injunction to launch synchronised actions targeting three key fuel distribution terminals early on Friday.
Seven supporters of the Just Stop Oil campaign trespassed at the Kingsbury oil terminal near Tamworth, Staffordshire, despite an injunction banning them from protesting at or around the site.
According to a statement by the group, the trespassers at Kingsbury paralysed its operations by occupying its loading bay, climbing on to loading bay pipework and locking on.
Others took action in Essex, staging road blocks and climbing on to fuel tankers on major tanker routes from the Inter terminal in Grays and the Navigator terminal in West Thurrock, which are on the banks of the Thames and supply petrol stations in east London and across the south-east.
Warwickshire police said 12 arrests had been made on Friday morning, while officers were also at the scene in Essex, according to the PA Media news agency.
Warwickshire police said: “Officers remain at Kingsbury oil terminal today and are currently dealing with protest activity after a number of protesters arrived overnight. There is minimal impact to the wider community at this time.”
The action at Kingsbury comes after the terminal’s owner, Texas-headquartered Valero Energy, this week obtained an injunction banning protests at any of its UK operations.
The injunction, which is addressed to a number of environmental groups and “persons unknown”, bans anyone from damaging any part of the land at each of the firm’s sites, from “affixing themselves to any other person or object” on the land or parts of access roads, and from building any structure.
Activists from Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion have taken action at 11 oil terminals since 1 April, and say they will continue targeting fuel distribution infrastructure until the government agrees to a moratorium on all new fossil fuel projects. Activists taking part in the campaign have been arrested 965 times so far, according to a tally kept by coordinators.
Among those taking action on Friday was Alex, 16, from south London. He said: “I’m taking action because I’m terrified of the future for my friends and family.
“If we do not act with urgency to end our reliance on fossil fuels, climate collapse will be inevitable, and that means we will lose everything. All our certainties, everything we rely on will go. We will be lucky to have enough food to eat.
“Oil will destroy everything.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/15/just-stop-oil-protesters-arrested-staffordshire-essex
