Anti-fracking protesters are occupying the main entrance to the Department of Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in London, in response to the department’s heavily-redacted report on the impact of shale gas exploration on rural communities.
On Monday morning three activists from the No Dash for Gas protest group superglued themselves to the doors of Defra; the activists have locked hands through a reinforced arm tube to stop access.
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Lindsay Alderton, one of the activists protesting at Defra explained why she felt action was necessary, she said: “Why is it that 63 segments of the Defra report were blacked out from public view? What is it about the dangers of fracking that our government doesn’t want us to know? Keeping secret the impacts of shale gas extraction on the rural communities that it’s going to affect is shameful – the public has a right to know the effects upon their housing and local services.
“This morning we’re here at Defra to remind them that they work for the public that pays them their wages, and that the public demands to know the facts about fracking – censoring is not an acceptable option.”
The action at Defra is one of many protests happening up and down the UK today, with campaigners from Reclaim the Power targeting Swansea University’s Energy Safety Research Institute for its alleged collaboration with British Petroleum. In addition, protestors are also blocking iGas’ headquarters in London
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