Activist arrested in oil protest (From Stroud News and Journal)

Activist arrested in oil protest

ECO-ACTIVISTS from Stroud stormed the London stronghold of the petrol industry and helped disrupt a meeting between the world's biggest oil barons.

Environmental pressure group Greenpeace broke into the International Petroleum Exchange, in February where the bulk of Britain's oil deals are agreed, with the aim of disrupting trading.

The action was timed to coincide with the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol which obliges countries that have signed up to make reductions in the amount of fossil fuels they use. Pitchcombe's Andy Taylor, 35, was among the 37 volunteers who took part in the boycott. "My job was to open the security doors and get up through the building," he said.

"Then we were supposed to find an office and me and another guy were going to barricade ourselves in there with Steve Tindale, the head of Greenpeace UK, so he could deal with the media from there."

But when the activists reached the trading floor they were forced back by angry traders.

"But we set off rape alarms and fog horns all over the place to disrupt trading as they rely on outcry trading where they have to make themselves clearly heard," said Mr Taylor.

The Greenpeace campaigners locked themselves onto the front of the building and claim to have handicapped the traders for several hours.

There were 27 arrests, including Mr Taylor, who is currently on bail while police consider legal action for aggravated trespass.

"The whole world at the moment is addicted to oil and it's killing the planet," said Mr Taylor. "People need to stand up and try to make a difference."

Stroud's Mark Epton, 31, and others from the local group were also busy at the same time disrupting an important get together for the oil industry at a swanky Park Lane hotel.

"Greenpeace had planned a party to celebrate the Kyoto Protocol coming into existence but then we found out that the International Petroleum Exchange was having its annual jamboree on the very same day and this was inappropriate," said Mr Epton.

"Kyoto is the only international agreement we've got to tackle climate change. "Most of the countries in the world have now signed up and it was ratified last Wednesday.

"We wanted to try to stop IPE from having their party," he said. "The protest went very well and we made our point."

SB