AT this year’s Green Party Spring Conference, an Emergency Motion proposed by Cllr Sam Hollick (Holywell) and Green Party leader, Natalie Bennett, offered the GPEW's support to the No Dash for Gas activists, who are being sued by EDF for £5million. Conference condemned EDF energy for this attack on the activists’ right to protest and the law suit which could leave the activists paying off the debt for the rest of their lives. Conference also noted that the police - who normally should have no role in a civil case - have assisted EDF energy in pursuing the activists, and condemns them for doing so.
Green MP, Caroline Lucas, recently tabled a Parliamentary question to ask about the provision of information by the police to private companies http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2013-02-25b.143122.h&s
Green Party Cllr Sam Hollick said:
"Government and industry are both pushing for more gas power stations, showing a complete failure of political will to invest in clean energy and tackle climate change. No Dash for Gas has rightly brought this scandal to the public's attention, and now EDF are trying to silence them and any future protest."
The No Dash For Gas activists shut down West Burton gas fired power station for a week - stopping emissions over 19000 tonnes of CO2 and highlighting the failure of both the energy giants and the Government to commit to a progressive clean energy agenda.
Green Party MP, Caroline Lucas commented:
“If the courts cave in to pressure from EDF, then there is a very real chance that the activists from "No Dash For Gas" will be expected to meet those vast costs.
“EDF claims it supports the right to "lawful protest", but it knows as well as anyone that no activist could afford such a bill – making this a move designed purely to prohibit such protests from happening at all.
“In light of the allegations of complicity of officers in the efforts by EDF to stop the protests, we also need to ask questions about just whose interest the police are serving.
“Our police force is there to uphold the law and protect the public, not to defend the interests of private companies and their shareholders.”
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