[ad_1]
More than 70 people have been arrested following protests by climate activists from Extinction Rebellion (XR) in front of two printing houses, preventing the distribution of millions of national newspapers.
Protesters blocked access to two print jobs in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire and Knowsley, near Liverpool, using vehicles and bamboo padlocks this morning.
Seventy-two people were arrested at the two locations, police said, and the delivery trucks were delayed leaving.
The move left newsstands without some papers on Saturday morning.
Police and fire brigade took up the protest outside the Newsprinters works in Hertfordshire
Newsprinters printers print the titles of Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp, including The Sun, The Times, The Sun On Sunday, and The Sunday Times.
The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, the Daily Mail and Mail On Sunday, the London Evening Standard and some Guardian supplements are also printed or processed on the sites.
Both demonstrations ended around 11 am.
The Telegraph says it has released its website this weekend after the protests.
A statement read: “The production of The Telegraph titles was severely affected.
“Following the assault on the free press, we have made the decision that all Telegraph journalism published this weekend is now free to read on our website until Monday morning and removed the paywall until then.”
The Times apologized to readers in a tweet, saying this morning that it was “working to get newspapers delivered to retailers as soon as possible.”
The action meant hundreds of thousands of people who would normally get The Sun were unable to read an interview with Sir David Attenborough explaining why he supports Extinction Rebellion and what Sun readers can do to help reduce climate change.
Newsprinters said it moved the job elsewhere, but apologized to newspaper readers affected by the delay.
The Newsprinters prints print titles such as The Sun, The Times, The Sun On Sunday, and The Sunday Times. Pic: Extinction Rebellion
Van access to the site was blocked
A spokesperson said: “Nighttime printing at two Newsprinters plants was disrupted by Extinction Rebellion activity. Thanks to other industry partners, printing was transferred to other sites …
“This attack on the entire free press affected many workers doing their jobs. Printing workers, delivery drivers, wholesale workers and retail kiosks have all faced delays and financial penalties.”
Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel echoed that sentiment, both calling XR’s actions “completely unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, Labor MP and former shadow cabinet member Dawn Butler initially tweeted in support of the protesters, but later deleted the post.
His comment – “Bravo #Extinction Rebellion. Excellent work” – was criticized by other Twitter users, with former Labor Minister Andrew Adonis saying: “I completely disagree with this.”
It comes after several days of interruption in London by the group, in an attempt to highlight the climate crisis.
The protesters also gathered at another site in Motherwell, but Scottish police say they moved without arrests.
Today, the campaign group completed their walk from Brighton to London with their boat “Lightship Greta”, named after teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg.
A procession is scheduled to take place in central London, to which the Met Police has imposed strict conditions.
XR claims that the “mainstream media” are controlled by a small number of people, and that news corporations are guilty of “constant manipulation of the truth to suit their own personal and political agendas.”
The group that targeted printers in Hertfordshire placed bamboo structures around the entrance, preventing access to the site.
Deliveries were delayed as a result of the protest
A Sky News producer at the site said there were lines of vans lined up along the road to the site, waiting to pick up newspapers.
Hertfordshire Police said: “Our officers are engaging with the group, which consists of about 100 people, and we are working to facilitate the rights of both protesters and those affected by their presence.”
In a tweet, the force said it had made 42 arrests.
Merseyside police said 30 arrests had been made there. “Two vans and a boat that were used to obstruct were removed,” added a spokesman.
Sky News has contacted News Corp for comment.
:: A New Climate is a special podcast series from Sky News Daily. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker
Extinction Rebellion activist Gully Bujak, 27, said: “You cannot have a functioning democracy with a mainstream media ruled by a small sect not representative of society, who is in bed with politicians and the fossil fuel industry.
“The climate emergency is an existential threat to humanity. Instead of putting this on the front page every day as it deserves, many of our media ignore the issue and some are actively sowing seeds of climate denial.
“They thrive on polarization and division. They sow hatred to distract us, actively benefiting from this division.”
“To these newspapers we say this: You will no longer come between us. For one night we are going to filter the lies and regain power. For one night we are going to show the world that you are vulnerable, just like us.”
[ad_2]
