Greenpeace activists have said they have scaled British prime minister Rishi Sunak’s mansion in protest against his new drilling “frenzy”.
The campaigners said they had draped the British prime minister’s manor house in North Yorkshire with an oily-black fabric to “drive home the dangerous consequences”.
They took the action as Mr Sunak and his family are away on holiday in California.
🚨BREAKING: Climbers are on the roof of Rishi Sunak’s mansion draping it in 200 metres of oily-black fabric to drive home the dangerous consequences of a new drilling frenzy.#StopRosebank #NoNewOil pic.twitter.com/oeb36Wi2QU
— Greenpeace UK (@GreenpeaceUK) August 3, 2023
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Mr Sunak has announced he plans to “max out” the UK’s oil and gas reserves by granting more than 100 new licences for extraction in the North Sea.
Climate-conscious Conservatives have joined campaigners in warning against the move, amid concerns it will hinder efforts to reach net-zero by 2050.
Greenpeace UK climate campaigner Philip Evans said: “We desperately need our prime minister to be a climate leader, not a climate arsonist.
“Just as wildfires and floods wreck homes and lives around the world, Sunak is committing to a massive expansion of oil and gas drilling.
“He seems quite happy to hold a blowtorch to the planet if he can score a few political points by sowing division around climate in this country. This is cynical beyond belief.
“More North Sea drilling will only benefit oil giants who stand to make even more billions from it, partly thanks to a giant loophole in Sunak’s own windfall tax.”
