Climate Change Action

A fascinating insight into the injunction that BAA are trying to gain over 5 million people. The injunction would ban the members of around 15 organisations, including the National Trust, RSPB and Woodland Trust from travelling along major pieces of infrastructure such as the Piccadilly Line and the two main local motorways. Apparently the law being used was designed to stop stalkers! So peaceful protest against what has been described as the most serious problem of our time is now being seen as akin to stalking...Hope to see you there!

The application by Heathrow airport for the injunction has been brought under the Protection from Harassment Act, which was originally introduced as an anti-stalking law. Over the past few years, however, it has been used by lawyers anxious to curtail protest activities by campaigners – notably animal rights activists.

Typically, however, judges have been reluctant to extend protections sought under the anti-harassment law too widely.

For example, a number of companies being targeted by animal rights campaigners have succeeded in securing special “exclusion zones” around company premises and employees’ homes. But efforts by Oxford university to curb protest activity across a swathe of the city failed when the proposed non-congregation zone was said by a judge to be “inordinately large” and “impossible to identify”.

(FT)

Surely this is a superb example of creeping state power backing up corporate power not protecting the people.

Also, some more free publicity thanks to a second Independent front page!