Climate activists drape UK PM Sunak's home in black to protest oil expansion
Four Greenpeace activists climbed onto the roof of Sunak’s constituency home in North Yorkshire and unfolded the black fabric to cover one side of the mansion.
Climate protesters from Greenpeace draped the home of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in northern England in black cloth on Thursday morning in protest against his recent backing for an expansion of North Sea oil and gas drilling.
Four Greenpeace activists climbed onto the roof of Sunak’s sprawling constituency home in Richmond, North Yorkshire, to unfold 200 square metres of "oil-black fabric" to cover one side of the mansion. Two other activists unfurled a banner emblazoned with the words “Rishi Sunak – Oil Profits or Our Future?” on the grass in front of the home.
"Just as wildfires and floods wreck homes and lives around the world, Sunak is committing to a massive expansion of oil and gas drilling,” said Philip Evans, Greenpeace UK’s climate campaigner.
"The experts are clear – we can't afford any new oil and gas, and the fossil fuel industry certainly doesn't need another helping hand in destroying the climate. What we need is a clean, affordable energy system fit for the 21st century. It’s time for Sunak to choose between Big Oil’s profits or our future on a habitable planet,” he said
Sunak, along with wife Akshata Murty and daughters Krishna and Anoushka are currently away on a week-long holiday in California. The local North Yorkshire Police issued a statement to say that its officers had responded to the protest activity at the Prime Minister’s home in Kirby Sigston.
"Officers have contained the area and no one has entered the building. The PM and his family are not at home,” the police said.
Asked about the incident, deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden told the BBC he thought the British people were "sick of these stupid stunts".
Earlier this week, Sunak had unveiled government plans to grant hundreds of new oil and gas licences as part of a drive to make Britain more energy independent.
"We have all witnessed how (Russian President) Putin has manipulated and weaponised energy – disrupting supply and stalling growth in countries around the world. Now more than ever, it’s vital that we bolster our energy security and capitalise on that independence to deliver more affordable, clean energy to British homes and businesses,” Sunak said on Monday.
"Even when we’ve reached net zero in 2050, a quarter of our energy needs will come from oil and gas. But there are those who would rather that it come from hostile states than from the supplies we have here at home. We’re choosing to power up Britain from Britain and invest in crucial industries such as carbon capture and storage, rather than depend on more carbon intensive gas imports from overseas – which will support thousands of skilled jobs, unlock further opportunities for green technologies and grow the economy,” he said.
During a radio show on Wednesday before setting off on holiday, the British Indian leader again defended his plans to say fossil fuels would still be needed as part of the country’s energy mix in future.
"Like most people, they're not eco zealots, they're open to sensible, practical arguments," he said, when asked what his environmentalist daughters make of his plans.
Greenpeace drapes UK leader
Sunak’s home in black fabric over
oil policy
Protest held after the government commits to
granting hundreds of licences for North Sea oil
and gas extraction.
Published On 3 Aug 2023
Greenpeace activists have draped the private home of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in black fabric, stepping up their campaign against his government’s policy on oil drilling.
A picture posted by Greenpeace UK on the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, showed four protesters atop the property in northern England on Thursday, covering it in swathes of black fabric, while two others hold a banner that reads, “Rishi Sunak – oil profits or our future?”
A source in Sunak’s office told the Reuters news agency that police were in attendance.
“We make no apology for taking the right approach to ensure our energy security, using the resources we have here at home so we are never reliant on aggressors like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin for our energy,” the source said.
Sunak said on Wednesday that he was due to leave the country for a holiday that evening.
Britain adopted the target of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 under former Prime Minister Theresa May in 2019 and was quick to build up its renewable energy capacity.
But campaigners have criticised the government’s record in recent years. On Monday, it committed to granting hundreds of licences for North Sea oil and gas extraction as part of efforts to become more energy independent.
It also approved its first new deep coal mine in decades in December.
Sunak defended his environmental record on Wednesday, saying his government had done a better job than other key countries in cutting carbon emissions.
Need ‘a climate leader, not a climate arsonist’
Greenpeace said four activists climbed onto the roof of the prime minister’s home in Yorkshire to protest against his backing of the expansion of North Sea oil and gas licences.
“We desperately need our prime minister to be a climate leader, not a climate arsonist,” Greenpeace UK said in a statement.
A poll released on Wednesday showed that 67 percent of voters believe the government is handling environmental issues badly, the worst rating since YouGov began tracking public opinion on the issue in mid-2019.
SOURCE: REUTERS
Greenpeace activists climb on roof of Rishi Sunak's family home
Greenpeace activists hold a banner while others cover British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's £2m manor house in oil-black fabric. Reuters
Greenpeace demonstrators draped the country estate of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in black fabric Thursday to protest his plan to expand oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. Video posted by the group showed a crew dressed in bright red jumpsuits, helmets, and safety harnesses carrying ladders and climbing onto the roof of the Yorkshire house. They slowly unfurled long black sheets of fabric over the front of the home and held a yellow sign on the roof that read "No New Oil.”
The prime minister was not at home because he is vacationing with his family in California. North Yorkshire police said officers were at the location. Sunak announced on Monday that Britain will grant hundreds of new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea to gain energy independence. The move was widely criticised by environmental groups that have accused the government of backsliding on its pledge to eliminate net carbon emissions by 2050.
As four Greenpeace members were on the roof of the British leader's country house, two others stood on the front lawn holding a banner with the words "Rishi Sunak – Oil Profits or Our Future?” "We desperately need our prime minister to be a climate leader, not a climate arsonist," said Philip Evans of Greenpeace. "Just as wildfires and floods wreck homes and lives around the world, Sunak is committing to a massive expansion of oil and gas drilling." UN scientists and environmental groups have called on global leaders to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels after a summer of record high temperatures, drought and floods linked to man-made climate change.
Burning oil and gas to power vehicles, factories and electricity generating stations releases huge amounts of carbon dioxide, the main driver of global warming. A statement from Sunak's office defended the prime minister's climate policies. "We make no apology for taking the right approach to ensure our energy security, using the resources we have here at home so we are never reliant on aggressors like (Russian President Vladimir) Putin for our energy,” the statement said.
The protest is one of dozens of high-profile demonstrations in the UK and across Europe by groups that have disrupted sporting events, caused massive traffic jams and performed shocking stunts to draw attention to the climate crisis and try to stop production of fossil fuels.
Associated Press
Greenpeace activist records message from the top of Rishi Sunak's house in North Yorkshire
Newcastle Greenpeace activist
arrested after protest at Rishi
Sunak's Yorkshire mansion
Four activists climbed onto the roof of Rishi Sunak's mansion to protest plans to "max out" the UK's oil and gas reserves by granting more than 100 new licences for extraction in the North Sea
NEWS
By Sam Blewett and Katie Dickinson,
Daniel Hall
A Greenpeace activist from Newcastle has been arrested after climbing onto the roof of Rishi Sunak's mansion to criticise his new fossil fuel drilling "frenzy".
Alex Wilson was one of four campaigners who draped the Prime Minister's grade II listed manor house in North Yorkshire with black fabric to "drive home the dangerous consequences" on Thursday morning. Police were "managing the situation" after being called to the family home in Kirby Sigston, near Northallerton, at around 8am after the activists climbed the roof while Mr Sunak and his family holidayed in California.
The group climbed down at about 1.15pm and were spoken to by officers before being loaded in the back of police vans. A former deputy chief constable of North Yorkshire Police said it was a "major breach of security" as he called for an "investigation into how this has been allowed to happen".
Mr Sunak, MP for Richmond, this week unveiled plans to "max out" the UK's oil and gas reserves by granting more than 100 new licences for extraction in the North Sea. He also hinted that the UK's largest untapped oil field, Rosebank, to the west of Shetland, could be approved despite fierce opposition from environmental campaigners.
Climate-conscious Conservatives have joined campaigners to warn against the move, amid concerns it will hinder efforts to reach net-zero by 2050. After using ladders to climb onto the roof, the four activists unfurled black fabric and brandished a banner demanding "no new oil" as they urged Mr Sunak to "be a climate leader, not a climate arsonist."
Protester Alex Wilson, who lives with her partner in Newcastle, released a video message from the roof of Mr Sunak's house, where she said: "We’re all here because Rishi Sunak has opened the door to a new drilling frenzy in the North Sea while large parts of our world are literally on fire. This will be a disaster for the climate."
On the ground, Greenpeace UK climate campaigner Philip Evans defended the action at the PM's home. He told the PA News Agency the group had knocked on the door when they arrived and said "this is a peaceful protest", but there was no answer.
Asked whether it was intrusive to target someone’s home, Mr Evans said: “This is the Prime Minister. He is the one that was standing in Scotland going to drill for every last drop of oil while the world is burning.
“He is personally responsible for that decision and we’re all going to be paying a high price if he goes through with it. It is personal.”
Later, he continued: "Our activists have come down, having delivered their message to the Prime Minister who’s holidaying 5,000 miles away. It’s time for Sunak to decide which side he is on – Big Oil’s profits or our future on a habitable planet?
“By ignoring the stark warnings of his own advisors, energy experts and the UN, and committing to a climate-wrecking drilling frenzy in the North Sea, the Prime Minister is pouring fuel on the wildfires, floods and unprecedented heat waves that are ruining lives and livelihoods right around the world. The buck stops with him, and he must take sole responsibility for the devastation he is unleashing.”
He added: "Our action today was entirely peaceful and we were diligent in ensuring that no one was home and that no damage would be done to the property. We have cooperated fully with the police and the activists have been taken into custody.
"We felt it was important to take this message directly to the Prime Minister’s doorstep today, since it is Sunak himself that has signed off on the decision to grant these licences and it is Sunak who holds the power to reverse this decision. So we ask the Prime Minister once more – Rishi Sunak, whose side are you on – Big Oil’s profits or our future?"
North Yorkshire Police said they had been "responding to reports of protest activity”. A statement added: "Officers have contained the area and no-one has entered the building."
Peter Walker, the former deputy chief constable of North Yorkshire Police said he was "absolutely astonished" the protesters gained access to the house and called for an investigation, telling LBC Radio: "It is clearly in my view a major breach of security. If free access is being granted to that property, people who wanted to do much more serious things would be able to leave devices or booby traps or something like that, and I really think this is a major failing, and it grieves me to say it because it’s my old police force that has failed."
Oliver Dowden defended the Government's environmental policies and criticised protesters. Speaking on a visit to Able Seaton Port in Hartlepool, he said: "I think what most people would say is ‘can you stop the stupid stunts’, actually what they want to see from Government is action."
He added: "That’s what you’re seeing here today, the world’s largest offshore wind farm being built right here, creating jobs. But at the same time we’re going to need in the coming decades oil and gas as part of our energy mix.
"The question is do we produce it here, where we get more tax, we create more jobs, or do we do what the Labour and others say which is say ‘no more investment in our North Sea oil and gas’?"
Aliia Keans, the senior Tory who chairs the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, described the action as unacceptable, saying: "Politicians live in the public eye and rightly receive intense scrutiny, but their family homes should not be under assault. Before long, police will need to be stationed outside the home of every MP."
