Mining court battle engulfs Tory treasurer
TORY Party treasurer Sir Mick Davis blamed fatal protests at one of his company’s mines on ‘neo Marxist anticapitalist agitators’, according to High Court documents.
The mining tycoon, the former chief executive of Xstrata, allegedly made the comments in an email to fellow directors as violent demonstrations at one of the firm’s sites in Peru in 2012 rocked the country.
Two men were shot dead in clashes with police at the Tintaya copper mine and villagers are now suing Xstrata for damages in the High Court in London.
The locals claim the company, which has since been bought by rival Glencore, should be held liable for the alleged human rights abuses by the Peruvian National Police (PNP). Weeks before the shootings a senior Xstrata executive had described the protesters as ‘sons of whores’, the court papers show.
A hearing over whether the case can proceed is due to take place in the High Court in London on October 30, with Glencore insisting the claim is without merit and will fail if it gets to full trial.
The local community had been concerned about the mine’s impact, and in 2010-11 an environmental study allegedly found contamination around the mines, according to court papers. Protests began in 2012, with Xstrata’s Peruvian subsidiary, Xstrata Tintaya, allegedly calling in the PNP to police the demonstrations.
It is claimed that during several days of protest in May that year, demonstrators were beaten, injured and racially abused by the police. On May 28, Reducindo Puma and Walter Ancca were shot dead.
On May 31, Davis, who was appointed Tory treasurer in 2016 having left Xstrata after the Glencore deal, allegedly emailed fellow directors to say the protests were ‘fermented (sic) by the mayor of Espinar (who attended our AGM) and a nexus of neo Marxist antimining/capitalist agitators’.
The villagers, represented by law firm Leigh Day, claim Xstrata and its Peruvian subsidiary should be liable for the police’s behaviour, saying the firm helped PNP with vehicles and equipment and failed to prevent the use of excessive force.
A spokesman for Glencore said: ‘The claimants do not allege that anyone from Xstrata or their private security force at the mine harmed anyone. All the allegations of harm are against the PNP. Xstrata was not responsible for the acts of the PNP in policing the protest and appealed to the PNP to respect the human right of protesters.’
Davis declined to comment. Peruvian National Police and the Peruvian Embassy did not comment.