No Opencast

At 5am on 9th March ‘No Opencast’ campaigners from throughout the country descended on Wiseton in Nottinghamshire, home of Richard Budge, Chief Executive of RJB Mining, the company responsible for destroying vast amounts of the environment in the UK.

Environmentalists, community activists, miners and women from mining communities have stepped up their campaign against those directly responsible for the destruction of our deep mine coal industry, the disgraceful expansion of strip mining, and the consequent devastation of the countryside.

The forty or so people were met with scores of police manning road blocks on all roads into Budge’s house. Police dogs were also deployed and five arrests were made for walking along the public highway, although all were later released without charge. The police’s ‘Operation Babysit’ ended with two police vehicles escorting each vehicle out of the county. Complaints are to be made to Nottinghamshire County Council as well as Joe Ashton, MP for the area, about police harassment as well as the massive waste of resources used to stop a peaceful protest.

Meanwhile the campaigners were overjoyed to hear that they have won the right to insist upon a ruling by John Gummer, Secretary of State for the Environment, on the planning application for a mine on the Deputy Prime Minister’s land. A spokesperson for the campaign said, “We will be back at Heseltine’s before the election to remind him we have not forgotten of forgiven his vicious attacks on our mining communities.” For more information about the No Opencast campaign call: 0171 603 1831 or 0181 672 9698.