Power 'plot' protesters: 114 bailed
POLICE have bailed 114 people arrested over an alleged protest planned at Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station.
Around 200 officers swooped on the Iona School in Sneinton Dale in the early hours of yesterday to make the arrests.
-
Police at the Iona School
Items including bolt croppers and devices to lock people to objects were seized.
A police spokeswoman said they "posed a serious threat to the safe running of the site".
The operation involved 200 officers from four forces – Notts, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire – and British Transport Police.
John Clarke, chairman of Notts Police Authority, said: "The annoying thing is that they can find so many officers to work on a bank holiday.
"It does amaze me, when I have been dealing for two days over the weekend with anti-social behaviour and no one is available."
The arrested people were questioned on suspicion of conspiracy to commit trespass and aggravated criminal damage.
The police spokeswoman said they had "gathered a large amount of evidence" which is being reviewed.
A spokesman for E.on, which owns the power station, said: "While we understand that everyone has a right to protest peacefully and lawfully, this was clearly neither of those things. We will be assisting police with their investigations into what could have been a very dangerous and irresponsible attempt to disrupt an operational power plant."
Police spent most of yesterday at the school, which is behind the Bakersfield Community Centre.
Officers left the building today. School administrator Nigel Revill said that they had nothing to do with what had taken place.
He said: "We are not sure at this stage exactly what has happened. I first heard about the police being here yesterday. It came as quite a shock."
18 Comments
View all
by Biff, Planet Earth
Wednesday, April 15 2009, 4:40PM
“The real crime is the burning of coal. It is the greatest risk to life on this planet.”
by Bill, Keyworth
Wednesday, April 15 2009, 10:47AM
“Brian I do trust that you have forsworn the use of all electricity other than that you generate, not wishing to be associated with killer power stations and that you do not use a pollution producing vehicle, only a bike?
Equaliser apply a little thought as you usually do. How do you prevent protesters accessing a site as large as Ratcliffe and think of the chaos on the A453. The Police had them contained and saved a lot of extra expense and inconvenience to the majority of law abiding public.”
by Damien, Nott'm
Wednesday, April 15 2009, 12:51AM
“Personally, i'm rather miffed at Dave, Notts refering to my ilk as "Republicans ¿R Us". I'm a Democrat, dammit! Obladi Obama war goes on...into Cambodia it seems. Er, i mean Pakistan. Same bunch of f------s, same bull---t.”
by Andyman, Derbys
Wednesday, April 15 2009, 12:40AM
“A crime had been committed, its called conspiracy. As they had planned an attack, and had the equipment to fulfil their objectives, we have a clear case of conspiracy, and a criminal act had been committed.”
by anna, United Kingdom
Tuesday, April 14 2009, 7:29PM
“Erm, it seems that the police have used ruff justice. I dont understand what the people have been arrested for....? Im none to plugged in you see...right on me door step, who do you all think you are? Power junkies the lot of you, And to you protesters....get your hands in your pockets along with the police and pay for the damages...THATS THE RIGHT THING TO DO!”
by Eddie, nottingham
Tuesday, April 14 2009, 6:58PM
“The police did a great job in preventing this mob from disrupting our power supplies, ther would have been a bigger out cry if we had been plunged into darkness with no power.There is a vast difference between peaceful protest, and violent protest whether it is to a person or some property, It would appear these protesters where intent on damaging a major power station, and should be duly punished, as real criminals they are”
by Common Sense, Nottm
Tuesday, April 14 2009, 6:20PM
“For a start, what were all these people doing at a private school at midnight? Did they have permision to be there? I suspect not, so if nothing else, they should be arrested for that and given an asbo preventing them from trying this again. I can't understand the stupidity of some who think it's ok to chain themselves to gate (next to 25,000 volts!). Sure, we need to look at alternative fuels but we also need to live in a modern world that uses electricity. I bet every one of the protestors used a mobile phone and/or laptop to coordinate their little meeting!”
by adie baker, in me grow in me loft,cardale road
Tuesday, April 14 2009, 4:06PM
“easy now eqauliser bro , if you need any big bud let me know seen bredwin ?”
by The Equaliser, Nottingrad
Tuesday, April 14 2009, 3:59PM
“Would it not have been just as effective to have had 200 policemen at the power station?
Then if this ot had bee intent on carnage then they could have been arrested within the letter of the law.
This will just cost the taxpayer loads of cash.
It was probably a cynical training exercise for when the real enemy within have a go!”
by Brian, Nottingham
Tuesday, April 14 2009, 3:11PM
“The police spokesperson and the spokesperson for E.on refer to the "safe running of the (Radcliffe on Soar) site".
The problem is that Radcliffe on Soar power station, and others like it, are not in the slightest bit safe. One of the world's leading climate scientists, James Hansen, refers to places like this as "death factories" because of the massive contribution that they make to global warming. Hansen recently claimed that another such death factory, if built at Kingsnorth, would be responsible for the death of 400 species - which is the proportionate contribution of a power station like this of species consigned to extinction if the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere rises another 100parts per million volume.
A survey released today shows that 9 out of 10 of the world's leading climate scientists do not believe that current political efforts will be sufficient to keep the rise in global temperatures at less than 2 degrees C. Over 13% thought it could be as high as a catastrophic 4-5 degrees and some even higher. I do not know what, if anything, was planned by those arrested, that must be proved in court. However I can understand why people are desperate. I feel desperate too. This is because places like the Radcliffe on Soar power station, the third bigest CO2 emitter in the UK, is guilty of being a death factory. That is beyond reseasonable doubt yet there is no sign that out political masters are capable of taking action to stop them operating.”