Court bans power station protest

Campaigners want the government to halt the plans for Kingsnorth

An energy company has been granted an extended injunction to keep environmental campaigners away from a power station during a planned protest.

E.On UK, the owners of the Kingsnorth station in Kent, made the request at the High Court to restrict the Climate Camp's planned direct action in August.

The injunction was extended to the jetty where coal is delivered to prevent rafts accessing the site.

Organisers said it would not stop them protesting about plans for a new plant.

E.On UK has said it will demolish the existing power station and replace it with a coal-fired unit that is 20% cleaner.

What we will not tolerate are people endangering our team, the police and themselves and breaking the law on what is effectively a publicity stunt E.On spokesperson

Medway Council approved the E.On planning application at the beginning of January, and the final decision on the proposed coal-fired station will now be made by the government.

If approved, E.On said the power station would provide energy for 1.5 million homes.

A spokesperson for EON said: "We don't have a problem with the climate campers.

"What we will not tolerate are people endangering our team, the police and themselves and breaking the law on what is effectively a publicity stunt."

'Water borne action'

She added: "The majority of people who go to the camp are perfectly peaceful and they are going to learn more about climate change - an awful lot of what they do is incredibly good.

"We're just worried about people coming just for the direct action."

The injunction is designed to prevent "a mass water borne action" by "hundreds of rebel rafts" as publicised on the protesters website.

Davy Jones, one of the organisers of the Great Rebel Raft Regatta, said the injunction would not work and their day of action in August would be "a decisive moment in the choice between E.On's profits or rapid cuts in CO2 emissions."