Extinction Rebellion activists block UK's largest oil refinery and scale silos

28 October 2021, 08:54 | Updated: 28 October 2021, 10:32

Climate change activists from Extinction Rebellion are blocking the entrance to an oil refinery in Hampshire and have scaled two silos.

Campaigners from Extinction Rebellion have put a small pink boat in front of the gates of Exxon Mobil's site in Fawley, near Southampton.

The activists have also scaled two 50-foot oil silos unfurling a banner with the statement: "Climate Emergency" and "No Future in Fossil Fuels".

ExxonMobil is a subsidiary of oil giant Esso and its Fawley site in Hampshire is the largest in the UK, supplying 20 per cent of UK fossil fuels, according to XR.

Extinction Rebellion protestors gained entry to the refinery early this morning, cutting its electrified perimeter fences and locking on to structures across the site.

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The campaigners, which include two British Olympians - Laura Baldwin and Etienne Stott, also condemn ExxonMobil’s massive expansion of its diesel production facilities at Fawley.

Olympian Laura Baldwin said: “I am a deeply protective mother, moved to take non violent direct action in a desperate bid to force this suicidal system to change in time, to limit the climate crisis worsening and slipping past the point of no return."

It comes just three days before the Cop26 climate summit, with protestors demanding the Government stops all fossil fuel investments.

Today police announced today they have charged four Animal Rebellion activists with aggravated trespass after they scaled the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs building in London on Tuesday.

Extinction Rebellion Protesters Shut Down Parts Of London

The group, which is an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, began protesting at the government office in Westminster, unveiling a banner that read "COP26: Invest in a Plant-Based Future".

Orla Coghlan, 26, Jamie Ozden, 25, of Tottenham, north London, were bailed and are set to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on November 15, alongside Liam Bright, 28, of Sherborne, Dorset, and Annabel Berwick, 19, of Cambridge.

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This story is being updated