Latest news with #JimRatcliffe
South Wales Guardian
3 days ago
- South Wales Guardian
Greenpeace says activists arrested after ending Forth Road Bridge protest
The Forth Road Bridge outside of Edinburgh was closed on Friday after 10 Greenpeace activists suspended themselves from the structure in order to block the tanker, which was headed for the Ineos petrochemical plant at nearby Grangemouth. Police Scotland said it had been alerted to the protest shortly after 1pm on Friday. That was after the group suspended themselves from the bridge using ropes, ending up about 25 metres above the water level at high tide. On Saturday morning Greenpeace announced it had ended the demonstration, saying they had 'achieved what we set out to'. The campaign group said its demonstration had prevented the Ineos tanker from delivering the gas for a full 24 hours, saying that the vessel could only travel to Grangemouth during high tides. As a result the specially trained activists began climbing down their ropes early on Saturday morning. Greenpeace said all 10 had descended safely and were voluntarily transported to Port Edgar in South Queensferry, where it said they were arrested by officers from Police Scotland on suspicion of culpable and reckless conduct. Amy Cameron, programme director at Greenpeace UK said: 'We've achieved what we set out to. 'By blocking Ineos, we've drawn global attention to the company's bottomless appetite for plastic production, false solutions and profit for its billionaire boss Jim Ratcliffe.' The Forth Road Bridge is closed due to a protest reported to us around 1.05pm on Friday, 25 July. Officers are in attendance and engaging with those involved. Please avoid the area. — Police Scotland Fife (@PSOSFife) July 25, 2025 Describing the 'plastic pollution problem' as being 'massive', she added: 'Less than 10% of plastic is currently recycled globally, and this is set to rise to just 17% by 2060, while the amount of plastic we're producing is set to triple. 'The only solution is to address the problem at source which means securing a strong global plastics treaty that imposes legally-binding caps on plastic production.' Ms Cameron continued: 'Ineos are cutting jobs at Grangemouth while trying to open a massive new plastics plant in Belgium, leaving Scottish workers high and dry. 'If Jim Ratcliffe really cared about skilled jobs in Scotland he'd invest his billions in supporting his workers to transition into the green industries of the future, instead of throwing money at Formula 1 racing teams and football clubs.' Greenpeace insists its protest was safe and caused 'minimal disruption' – stressing that the climbers had spent weeks training for the demonstration, also pointing out that the Forth Road Bridge carries low volumes of bus, cycle and pedestrian traffic. Police Scotland has been contacted for comment.
Edinburgh Reporter
3 days ago
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
Ten people arrested following Forth Road Bridge protest
Ten people have been arrested following a protest on the Forth Road Bridge on Friday, 25 July, 2025. The protest organised by Greenpeace UK involved a number of activists who suspended themselves from the bridge using ropes and was reported to police around 1.05pm. Five men, aged between 35 and 40, and five women, aged between 25 and 42, were arrested in connection and further enquiries are ongoing. Police said that the bridge was re-opened around 11am. Amy Cameron, Programme Director at Greenpeace UK said: 'We've achieved what we set out to. By blocking INEOS, we've drawn global attention to the company's bottomless appetite for plastic production, false solutions and profit for its billionaire boss Jim Ratcliffe. 'Their feeble suggestion that recycling and managing waste can hand them a free pass to go on producing more plastic forever is laughable. It comes from the same industry playbook as the health benefits of smoking and carbon offsetting. 'The plastic pollution problem is just too massive. Less than 10% of plastic is currently recycled globally, and this is set to rise to just 17% by 2060, while the amount of plastic we're producing is set to triple. The only solution is to address the problem at source which means securing a strong Global Plastics Treaty that imposes legally-binding caps on plastic production. 'INEOS are cutting jobs at Grangemouth while trying to open a massive new plastics plant in Belgium, leaving Scottish workers high and dry. If Jim Ratcliffe really cared about skilled jobs in Scotland he'd invest his billions in supporting his workers to transition into the green industries of the future, instead of throwing money at Formula 1 racing teams and football clubs.' 'Contrary to INEOS' claims, the protest was both safe and caused minimal disruption. The climbers are all highly-trained and spent weeks rehearsing this action to ensure it was safe. They were supported at all times by rescue climbers and support boats. The Forth Road Bridge carries low volumes of bus, bicycle and pedestrian traffic and was closed by Police Scotland – not by the protest directly.' Like this: Like Related
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Ten Greenpeace activists arrested after suspending themselves from bridge outside Edinburgh
Ten Greenpeace activists have been arrested after suspending themselves from a bridge over a river to halt a tanker carrying fracked gas. The Forth Road Bridge outside Edinburgh was closed on Friday due to the demonstration, with Police Scotland alerted shortly after 1pm. The protesters ended up dangling around 25m above the water level at high tide. Greenpeace announced it had ended the demonstration on Saturday morning, saying it had "achieved what we set out to do". The group said its activists had prevented the Ineos tanker from delivering the gas for a full 24 hours, because the vessel could only travel to the Ineos petrochemical plant at nearby Grangemouth during high tides. Its specially trained activists began climbing down their ropes on Saturday morning. Greenpeace said all 10 descended safely and were voluntarily transported to Port Edgar in South Queensferry, where it said they were arrested by officers from Police Scotland on suspicion of culpable and reckless conduct. Police Scotland confirmed five men aged between 35 and 40, as well as five women aged between 25 and 42, had been arrested. It said further inquiries were ongoing and the Forth Road Bridge remained closed to traffic as of Saturday morning. Read more: Amy Cameron, programme director at Greenpeace UK, said: "By blocking Ineos, we've drawn global attention to the company's bottomless appetite for plastic production, false solutions and profit for its billionaire boss Jim Ratcliffe." Describing the "plastic pollution problem" as "massive", she added: "Less than 10% of plastic is currently recycled globally, and this is set to rise to just 17% by 2060, while the amount of plastic we're producing is set to triple. "The only solution is to address the problem at source which means securing a strong global plastics treaty that imposes legally-binding caps on plastic production." Greenpeace insists its protest was safe and caused "minimal disruption". It stressed the climbers had spent weeks training for the demonstration and pointed out the Forth Road Bridge carries low volumes of bus, cycle and pedestrian traffic.
Sky News
3 days ago
- Sky News
Ten Greenpeace activists arrested after suspending themselves from bridge outside Edinburgh
Ten Greenpeace activists have been arrested after suspending themselves from a bridge over a river to halt a tanker carrying fracked gas. The Forth Road Bridge outside Edinburgh was closed on Friday due to the demonstration, with Police Scotland alerted shortly after 1pm. The protesters ended up dangling around 25m above the water level at high tide. Greenpeace announced it had ended the demonstration on Saturday morning, saying it had "achieved what we set out to do". The group said its activists had prevented the Ineos tanker from delivering the gas for a full 24 hours, because the vessel could only travel to the Ineos petrochemical plant at nearby Grangemouth during high tides. Its specially trained activists began climbing down their ropes on Saturday morning. Greenpeace said all 10 descended safely and were voluntarily transported to Port Edgar in South Queensferry, where it said they were arrested by officers from Police Scotland on suspicion of culpable and reckless conduct. Police Scotland confirmed five men aged between 35 and 40, as well as five women aged between 25 and 42, had been arrested. It said further inquiries were ongoing and the Forth Road Bridge remained closed to traffic as of Saturday morning. Amy Cameron, programme director at Greenpeace UK, said: "By blocking Ineos, we've drawn global attention to the company's bottomless appetite for plastic production, false solutions and profit for its billionaire boss Jim Ratcliffe." Describing the "plastic pollution problem" as "massive", she added: "Less than 10% of plastic is currently recycled globally, and this is set to rise to just 17% by 2060, while the amount of plastic we're producing is set to triple. "The only solution is to address the problem at source which means securing a strong global plastics treaty that imposes legally-binding caps on plastic production." Greenpeace insists its protest was safe and caused "minimal disruption". It stressed the climbers had spent weeks training for the demonstration and pointed out the Forth Road Bridge carries low volumes of bus, cycle and pedestrian traffic.
Leader Live
3 days ago
- Leader Live
Ten activists arrested after Greenpeace demo on Forth Road Bridge ends
The Forth Road Bridge outside of Edinburgh was closed on Friday after the Greenpeace activists suspended themselves from the structure in order to block the tanker, which was headed for the Ineos petrochemical plant at nearby Grangemouth. Police Scotland said it had been alerted to the protest shortly after 1pm on Friday. That was after the group suspended themselves from the bridge using ropes, ending up about 25 metres above the water level at high tide. On Saturday morning Greenpeace announced it had ended the demonstration, saying they had 'achieved what we set out to'. The campaign group said its demonstration had prevented the Ineos tanker from delivering the gas for a full 24 hours, as the vessel could only travel to Grangemouth during high tides. As a result the specially trained activists began climbing down their ropes early on Saturday morning. Greenpeace said all 10 had descended safely and were voluntarily transported to Port Edgar in South Queensferry, where it said they were arrested by officers from Police Scotland on suspicion of culpable and reckless conduct. Police Scotland confirmed that five men aged between 35 and 40, and five women, aged between 25 and 42, had been arrested. The force added that further inquiries were ongoing, and that the Forth Road Bridge remained closed to traffic as of Saturday morning. After the demonstration ended Amy Cameron, programme director at Greenpeace UK said: 'We've achieved what we set out to. 'By blocking Ineos, we've drawn global attention to the company's bottomless appetite for plastic production, false solutions and profit for its billionaire boss Jim Ratcliffe.' Describing the 'plastic pollution problem' as being 'massive', she added: 'Less than 10% of plastic is currently recycled globally, and this is set to rise to just 17% by 2060, while the amount of plastic we're producing is set to triple. 'The only solution is to address the problem at source which means securing a strong global plastics treaty that imposes legally-binding caps on plastic production.' Ms Cameron continued: 'Ineos are cutting jobs at Grangemouth while trying to open a massive new plastics plant in Belgium, leaving Scottish workers high and dry. 'If Jim Ratcliffe really cared about skilled jobs in Scotland he'd invest his billions in supporting his workers to transition into the green industries of the future, instead of throwing money at Formula 1 racing teams and football clubs.' Greenpeace insists its protest was safe and caused 'minimal disruption' – stressing that the climbers had spent weeks training for the demonstration, also pointing out that the Forth Road Bridge carries low volumes of bus, cycle and pedestrian traffic.
