Climate activists arrested after locking on to Scottish Parliament

7 November 2024, 17:22

Two Extinction Rebellion climate activists have been arrested after locking themselves to the bamboo poles on the exterior of the Scottish Parliament building, using bicycle D-locks around their necks.

The women were protesting about plans for a new fossil fuel plant to be built at Peterhead in the north east of Scotland.

Police Scotland removed their banners and erected a black tarpaulin-covered screen around them so they were not visible to the public. LBC understands this is one of the force's latest tactics to deal with small protests of this type.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 11.40am on Thursday, 7 November 2024, we were made aware of a group of protestors on Horse Wynd, Edinburgh.

"Officers attended and two women aged 46 and 69 have been arrested and charged in connection. They have been released on an undertaking to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court at a later date.”

A third activist failed to have his lock in place before being removed by police.

He had previously handed letters containing the keys into the Parliament, addressed to First Minister John Swinney, Net Zero and Energy Secretary Gillian Martin and climate change minister Alasdair Allan. The activists had hoped that the politicians would come out to unlock them - but the letters were instead handed to police officers in Holyrood.

The ministers were chosen as they could have the final say on a new gas power station in Peterhead proposed by SSE and Norwegian state-owned Equinor, who say the facility will utilise carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to offset any emissions.

The activists believe that carbon capture hasn’t had any impact on reducing emissions and granting permission will allow fossil fuels to be used for decades to come. As a result they are calling for the Scottish Government to re-do an Environmental Impact Assessment.

XR Scotland Community Organiser, John Hardie, told LBC: "Our protest is about calling for meaningful action against the climate crisis.

"CCS is not the solution its made out to be; it is a lifeline for oil and gas companies who wish to continue extracting fossil fuels while cloaking themselves in the illusion of environmental responsibility.

"We cannot allow our future to be dictated by 'magical' technological fixes that merely prolong the fossil fuel era and distract from the urgent need for a rapid and just transition to renewable energy. We demand real solutions, not empty promises. Our lives depend on it."

The Peterhead plant was also raised with John Swinney at First Minister's Questions by Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie, who urged the First Minister to demand a new environmental impact of the polluting proposal.

"The First Minister’s government is on the verge of making a decision on a new fossil fuel power station at Peterhead Last week the researchers at Carbon Tracker revealed that the emissions from this power station could be five times worse than the companies that would profit from it have admitted," he said.

“He has the power to demand a new environmental impact assessment, to make sure these companies come clean about the pollution their scheme would cause.

“Will he do so, and does he accept that until he does, Ministers may be breaking the law if they sign-off this reckless fossil fuel development?”

John Swinney said that as the issue involved a live planning application he would be breaking the ministerial code if he made "any detailed comment."

He said scrutiny would be undertaken and that "all decisions of this government can be subject to legal challenge."

He added that the government "takes incredibly seriously the obligations we have on tackling climate change."

However it was later revealed that he will not attend COP29 in Baku next week. Instead his acting Net Zero and Energy Secretary Gillian Martin will go in his place.

It will be the first COP since 2019 that Scotland's First Minister has not attended.

And earlier this week the Scottish Government passed a new climate Bill which scrapped annual targets and the 2030 and 2040 interim targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It kept the aim of reaching net-zero by 2045.

That move came after the government accepted it could not reach its target of reducing emissions by 75 per cent by 2030.

The bill passed in Holyrood by 105 votes to zero, receiving support from all parties, apart from the Scottish Greens whose seven MSPs abstained.

XR Scotland had taken similar action in 2019, five activists locking on to Holyrood and sending the keys to party leaders ahead of the then-upcoming Scottish Climate Bill.