Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the South East,
calls for urgent review of the policing guidelines for oil and
gas drilling protests, following reports of police and security
forces using excessive force against peaceful
protesters.
An apparently peaceful female protester was
captured being hurled to the ground by a police officer during a
demonstration in Chesterfield on Friday, 30 June
[1].
In a separate incident, a demonstrator was seen
to be punched and restrained by a fracking site manager in
Lancashire on Tuesday, 4 July [2].
The protest was live streamed and viewers
complained that nearby officers failed to intervene to prevent
the alleged assault. Lancashire Police have since confirmed they
are investigating the incident.
Mr Taylor, a vocal anti-fracking and
anti-drilling campaigner, has written to the National Police
Chief Council, the Chief Constable of Sussex Police, and the
Police and Crime Commissioners of Sussex and Surrey to raise his
concerns about the "bully boy" policing methods and harassment
experienced by peaceful protesters in the South East
[3].
In a new letter to the National Police Chief
Council, the Green MEP is demanding an update on the progress of
a proposed review of the guidelines on policing linked to onshore
oil and gas [4].
Keith said:
"The photos and videos coming out from the
recent protests in Derbyshire and Lancashire are incredibly
concerning. It's shocking that apparently peaceful demonstrators
have suffered such violence while exercising their democratic
freedom to protest."
"As the most recent NetPol report on the
policing of anti-fossil fuel extraction protests suggests: it is
becoming increasingly clear that political pressure is being
brought to bear on police forces to act as
the legal enforcers
in a drilling debate the government is losing. The Government is
in danger of allowing industry interests to undermine our
fundamental freedoms."
"That's why I have again written to the
National Police Chief Council to call on them to urgently review
their guidance on the policing of fracking and oil and gas
drilling protests. UK police forces work on the fundamental
principle of consent, but if local residents are beginning to
question whether officers are working to protect them or just the
interests of the oil and gas industry the notion of consent has
broken down - and trust must be
repaired."
Keith, a member of the European Parliament's
Environment Committee and the European Chair of the Climate
Parliament, added:
“Ultimately, The scientific consensus on
climate change has never been greater. It is clear that the best
chance we have of averting catastrophe is by keeping fossil fuel
reserves in the
ground. These processes are a dangerous and deeply unpopular
method of fossil fuel extraction. They also have profound and
acute impacts on local communities; public opposition has never
been higher while support has never been
lower.”
“An authoritarian crack down on British
citizens' right to protest will not change that truth. I and my
Green colleagues will continue to stand up for and stand
alongside fossil fuel protesters across the
UK.”
ENDS
