22 arrested at Drax power station climate protest

Climate campaigners have cancelled a protest at a North Yorkshire power plant after police made 22 arrests and seized equipment.

Reclaim the Power initially said its members were setting up camp for six days at Drax Power Station, near Selby, over claims it is the UK’s largest single source of carbon emissions.

North Yorkshire Police said it had made arrests over public order offences, including conspiracy to interfere with key national infrastructure.

A number of items "associated with large scale protest" were seized.

The force, which said it would also use extra stop-and-search powers to prevent offences, was not "anti-protest [but] anti-crime".

However, Reclaim the Power said the arrests showed police priorities were wrong, following days of rioting in towns and cities across the country.

It said it had cancelled the camp following the police intervention.

A group spokesperson said: “Racist violence is happening nationwide. Black and brown communities are under attack with fire and bricks and the police have made the unfathomable decision to divert resources away from those communities to arrest 22 people taking equipment to make a peaceful climate protest safe and accessible.

“The police claim they are not against protest but against crime, but their actions show otherwise.

"In Yorkshire this morning, police prioritised locating and arresting people suspected of organising peaceful protest with tents, toilets and track for wheelchairs over locating and arresting people who are actually organising far right riots."

A former coal-fired power station, Drax is now the UK's largest biomass generator. Biomass involves burning wood or plants to create heat, transport fuel or electricity.

Biomass generators have become a key part of the government's drive to meet climate targets.

A Drax spokesperson said it respected the right to protest, but the camp was "completely misguided".

They said: "Drax has been at the forefront of efforts to help the UK to decarbonise at a faster rate than any other country and is the country’s biggest renewable power generator by output, keeping the lights on for four million homes and businesses across the UK.

"We thank North Yorkshire Police for their swift action this morning to protect our colleagues and the wider community."

Supt Ed Haywood-Noble, of North Yorkshire Police, said there police would remain at the camp for the coming days.

"It’s our responsibility to manage the protest in line with legal obligations. We also have a duty to ensure that people who work at Drax and members of the local community can go about their daily business as usual."

It added that any offences, including outbreaks of disorder, would be robustly dealt with.

The 22 individuals who were arrested remain in police custody.

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