Cross posted from Edie.net
photo courtesy clay/greenpeace
Police swooped on a group of protesters who attempted to blockade the offices of Government building.
Activists from campaigning group Greenpeace, using chains, plywood boards and cars blockaded entrances, with the aim of stopping any deal that would see petrol refined from tar sands oil being sold at UK petrol pumps.
According to the group mining for tar sands is ‘wrecking’ the Canadian boreal forest, ‘destroying’ the homelands of indigenous people and ‘accelerating’ dangerous climate change.
Greenpeace energy campaigner, Paul Morrozzo, said: “British ministers should be more concerned with creating green jobs in Europe than dirty jobs in Canada, but instead they’ve been caving in to the demands of oil industry lobbyists.
“This morning our volunteers prevented them from doing big oil’s dirty work but now Nick Clegg should intervene and rescue his party’s environmental reputation by backing a European ban on tar sands.”
The action ended when 16 environmental activists were arrested after the two main doorways into the ministry were closed off for more than seven hours.