Oil terminal protest ends with 31 arrests
A 60-hour blockade by climate activists of a Scottish oil terminal has ended peacefully with more than 30 protesters arrested.
Just Stop Oil carried out the action at the Nustar Clydebank facility near Glasgow demanding that the Westminster government ends new oil and gas projects in the UK.
The protest began at about 4amontuesdaywhenactivists climbed on top of tankers and lockedontotheentrance,while others entered the oil terminal, where some sat on pipes and some on the silos to halt operations.
Just Stop Oil said the protesters were there for about 60 hours before the action ended on Thursday, which the group believes is the longest occupationofanoilterminalintheuk.
Police Scotland said 31 people were arrested and charged in connection with a number of offences. The force said 15 have been charged with breach of the peace and 16 with a contravention of a section of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 which relates to trespass, and alleged malicious mischief.
Chief Superintendent Lynn Ratcliff said: “As a rights-based organisation, Police Scotland puts our values of integrity, fairness, respect and a commitment to upholding human rights at the heart of everything we do.
“This means that we will protect the rights of people who wish to peacefully protest or counter-protest, balanced against the rights of the wider community.”
Police said reports will be sent to the procurator fiscal in due course.
Itwasthefirstactionofitskind in Scotland since the Just Stop Oil coalition began blockading fuel terminals south of the border on April 1, leading to more than 1,000 arrests.
A UK Government spokesman said: “We will not bend to the will of activists who naively want to extinguish North Sea oil and gas production.
“Doing so would put energy security and British jobs at risk, and simply increases foreign imports, whilst not reducing demand.
“We are committed to a strong North Sea industry as we transition away from expensive fossil fuels over the coming decades, and our recent British Energy Security Strategy sets out a long-term
plan to ramp up cheap renewables and nuclear energy.” Just Stop Oil have launched a series of blockades of fuel terminals in southeast England and the Midlands since April 1 in a bid to force the Government to cut reliance on the fossil fuel.
The protests in Essex on April 13 focused on the Purfleet Oil Terminal, the Inter Terminal in Grays and the Navigator Terminal in Thurrock.
So far, 23 people have been charged in connection with the disruption around Thurrock since the beginning of
April, Essex Police said, and it has made 461 arrests. The Metropolitan Police said 70 people were arrested at the weekend for offences in connection with disruption at Marble Arch during which the London landmark was scaled as a banner was hung in protest against the use of fossil fuels.
Other carbon fuel protesters have targeted thousands of SUVS across the UK, deflating tyres in cities including Edinburgh and Glasgow.