A Reckless Act The police had to use 12 specialist officers, who were flown onto the rig by helicopter to remove the protesters. Both the police and BP have called the protest reckless. Ch Supt George MacDonald, the local police commander, said on Thursday night the Greenpeace protests had been potentially reckless and could have endangered people – a message echoed by BP. “The particular nature of this protest on an oil platform within a marine environment made this an extremely complex and challenging operation,” Ch Supt George MacDonald, the local police commander, said in a statement on Thursday. BP accused Greenpeace of orchestrating a reckless publicity stunt that endangered people’s lives. “We share the protesters’ concerns about climate change, we support the Paris agreement [to cap global temperature rises at 1.5C] and are committed to playing our part to advance the energy transition. However, progress to a lower carbon future will depend on coming together, understanding each other’s perspectives and working to find solutions, not dangerous PR stunts that exacerbate divisions and create risks to both life and property,” the firm said in a statement. The rig in question is a massive 27,000-tonne platform, which is operated by the American firm Transocean on behalf of BP, who may also take further legal action against Greenpeace including suing them for damages. Main photograph taken from Greenpeace, by Kristian Buus]]>

Edward Cowley
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