The company at the centre of anti-fracking protests in England has condemned ‘illegal direct actions’ after campaigners blockaded their headquarters.
Anti-fracking campaigners blocked the entrance to Cuadrilla’s base in Lichfield, while others superglued themselves to the offices of PR company Bell Pottinger in response to the exploration firm’s drilling in Balcombe, West Sussex.
Police said around 25 protesters had been arrested in Balcombe by around 3.30pm, as officers moved in to clear a large group of people in front of an emergency access to the Cuadrilla drilling site.
Among those arrested was Green Party MP Caroline Lewis, who said: “Along with everyone else who took action today, I’m trying to stop a process which could cause enormous damage for decades to come.
“The evidence is clear that fracking undermines efforts to tackle the climate crisis and poses potential risks to the local environment.
“People today, myself included, took peaceful non-violent direct action only after exhausting every other means of protest available to us.
“I’m in the privileged position of being able to put questions to the Government directly and arrange debates in Parliament, but still ministers have refused to listen.
“Despite the opposition to fracking being abundantly clear, the Government has completely ignored the views of those they are supposed to represent.
“When the democratic deficit is so enormous, people are left with very little option but to take peaceful, non-violent direct action.”
Superintendent Lawrence Hobbs from Sussex Police said: “We had been expecting some form of direct action today and we had officers in place ready to deal with it. It has been necessary to close the road, but that has been done a number of times in recent days to ensure that safety of all those who are taking part.
“As we have said from the very start of this protest operation, we are more than happy to facilitate peaceful protest, but those who are intent on criminal action will be arrested.”
Sussex Police said more than 400 officers have been deployed on the operation at Balcombe, with support from 10 other UK forces.
“Protesters broke into our Lichfield office, harassed our staff and chained themselves to filing cabinets,” Cuadrilla said in a statement.
“The police are on site dealing with this. We condemn all illegal direct actions against our people and operations.”
Campaign group No Dash For Gas said six protesters superglued themselves to the glass door of Bell Pottinger at 8am and deployed reinforced arm tubes to stop anyone else getting inside.
Another activist climbed the High Holborn building and unfurled a banner bearing the words: “Bell Pottinger – fracking liars”.
The protest group claims it has obtained a secret recording of a senior public relations officer at the firm admitting that the effect fracking will have on people’s energy bills will be “basically insignificant” and said it was playing the recording on a loudspeaker.
Police stormed a line of protesters outside the Balcombe drilling site after hundreds gathered to express their concerns over the controversial shale gas extraction method.
Officers tore down a blockade of bicycles and kettled the protesters into a small space in front of the drilling site, while other protestors gathered outside the constituency office of Balcombe’s local MP Francis Maude.
Read MEP Struan Stevenson’s take on the Cuadrilla protests here
Cuadrilla insisted that the morale of its staff at various sites was “fine”, and they and the teams supporting the company are “doing a magnificent job”.
“They know that what we are doing is legal, approved and safe, and that shale gas is essential to improve our energy security, heat our homes, and create jobs and growth,” the company said.
“Cuadrilla is rightly held accountable for complying with multiple planning and environmental permits and conditions, which we have met and will continue to meet.
“Clearly we are held to one set of legally enforceable standards while some protesters believe that they can set out and follow their own.”