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    Guardian: Extinction Rebellion protesters arrested after blockading Murdoch print sites Archived Message

    Posted by Sinister Burt on September 5, 2020, 9:28 am

    I like it - priti patel has condemned this attack on the 'free press' - how long till she tries to do an antifa on them like trumpolini?

    https://www.dumptheguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/04/extinction-rebellion-block-roads-to-murdoch-paper-print-sites

    "(Police say no newspaper delivery vans have yet left one site that prints major newspaper titles)

    More than a dozen Extinction Rebellion protesters have been arrested after blockading two UK printworks owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp on Friday evening in a bid to stop a range of papers reaching newsstands on Saturday.

    More than 100 protesters used vehicles and bamboo lock-ons to block roads outside the Newsprinters printing works at Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, and Knowsley, near Liverpool on Friday.

    Hertfordshire Police said delivery lorries had not left the Broxbourne site as of 6am on Saturday, and that 13 arrests had been made.

    The presses print the Murdoch-owned News Corp’s titles including the Sun, Times, Sun on Sunday and Sunday Times, as well as the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, and the London Evening Standard.

    Hertfordshire police said officers were called to Great Eastern Road near the Broxbourne plant at about 10pm, where they found about 100 protesters who had “secured themselves to structures and one another”.

    Under a banner reading “Free the truth”, XR tweeted that it was using the disruption to expose the newspapers’ “failure to report on the climate & ecological emergency, and their consistent manipulation of truth to suit their own agendas”.

    The group said it was planning to block routes out of the printing works throughout the night.

    Alanna Byrne, from Extinction Rebellion, said: “We will only tackle the climate and ecological emergency by breaking the traditional impasse of oppositional politics and coming together, despite our differences.

    “If we are to sort out this mess we’re in, the mainstream media must stop profiting from clickbait culture that is swimming in misinformation, that makes us hate our neighbours, suspect foreigners and vulnerable groups, and rally the nation into action.”

    Gully Bujak, an XR activist, said: “The climate emergency is an existential threat to humanity. Instead of publishing this on the front page every day as it deserves, much of our media ignores the issue and some actively sow the seeds of climate denial.”

    Hertfordshire police assistant chief constable Owen Weatherill said officers were “working to facilitate the rights of both the protesters and those affected by their presence” but protesters were not cooperating.

    “The rights to protest are well established in this country and we remain committed to facilitating peaceful protest and ensuring compliance,” he said in a statement. “However, at this time, the group are not engaging with us and the protest is causing major disruption to local businesses.

    “At this time, 13 people have been arrested in connection with the incident, and we anticipate more arrests will be made. I’d like to reassure you that we are doing all we can to bring the incident to a peaceful conclusion, ensuring minimum disruption to the affected businesses.”

    XR protesters also held a smaller demonstration near Motherwell aimed at disrupting the distribution of Saturday’s Scottish Sun newspaper.

    Meanwhile, climate change protesters have been warned they risk a large fine if they fail to comply with coronavirus rules banning gatherings of more than 30 people.

    The Met police said risk assessments explaining how XR activists were minimising the possibility of Covid-19 transmission at a planned march in Westminster “did not meet the required standard”.

    The force said XR’s latest round of demonstrations “pose a risk, not only to those involved, but to the wider public and communities of London”.

    On Saturday, a procession of activists who set off from Brighton on foot a week ago is due to march the final stretch to Parliament.

    They have been banned from taking a 20ft (seven-metre) model boat named after teenage activist Greta Thunberg to the streets of Westminster.

    On Friday Met police assistant commissioner Louisa Rolf warned the group not to take the Lightship Greta into an area stretching from Green Park to Lambeth.

    Extinction Rebellion activists dumped manure outside News Corp offices in Sydney and Brisbane on Friday to protest against the media giant’s coverage of climate change.

    A News Corp source defended the company’s stance on climate, saying that Saturday’s Sun was carrying an opinion piece by David Attenborough on how to tackle the climate crisis. The company is also moving to scrap all single-use plastic used to wrap its titles."

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