Lone environmental activist gets into power station

A lone environmental activist strolled into power station and shut down 500MW turbine.

By Michael Smith

On 22hrs on Friday, November 28, 2008, a one environmental activist, in full view of CCTV cameras, climbed two, supposedly electric, razer-wire topped fences at Kingsnorth power station in Kent and than literally strolled through an open door into the main generating house and shut down a 500MW turbine. He then strolled back out of the facility leaving behind a banner stating “No New Coal”.

This comes around the same time when in another – unrelated incident – about 50 environmental protesters went through the perimeter fence at Stanstead airport getting into high security air side areas of the airport.

During the year 2008 we have had at least three of such major breaches of security at establishments that should be made and kept secure. Two of those were at airports, the first at Heathrow when protesters actually managed to get onto the fuselage and wings of a parked aircraft and were not noticed until they unfurled a large banner, the the incidents at Stanstead and at Kingsnorth power station. Not counting the one when protesters managed to actually scale the chimney at a power station.

Either we are totally inept at guarding vital infrastructure against potential terrorist attacks or there is no real threat in existence at all. Which is it?

While the surveillance of the individual, especially in Britain, is becoming more and more complete and no one can do anything without not being monitored by CCTV cameras, scanned by scatter radar or such, and/or have their emails and even phone conversations routinely monitored, our vital infrastructure targets are wide open for people to simply walk in unchallenged. Something, in my opinion, does not compute here whatsoever.

It is high time that we either beefed up security at such installations, whether airports, power stations, water works, power lines, and such like, and really guarded such areas or government came clean and admitted finally there there is no real threat from so-called Islamists terrorist whatsoever. Either, as I said, we are totally inept in protecting out vital installations or we are that lax because there is no threat and government is lying to us.

Just a little food for thought!

© M Smith (Veshengro), December 2008
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