Anti-HS2 protesters camped out in tunnels dug near Euston station have lost a High Court bid to block an operation to remove them as their colleagues targeted the Department for Transport by smearing its headquarters with pink paint today.
The tunnels, which were dug in secret by protesters who object to the redevelopment of Euston Square Gardens in London as part of HS2, were discovered on January 26 and some protesters have since been removed or left, while a number of people remain underground.
At a remote hearing on Tuesday, lawyers representing Dr Larch Maxey, one of the protesters who continues to occupy the tunnels, asked a High Court judge to order that HS2 should stop all operations to extract protesters.
They argued the remaining protesters should be provided with oxygen monitoring equipment, a hard-wired communications system, food and drink.
They also asked the court to order that arrangements should be made for the removal of human waste from the tunnels and for an independent expert to be given access to the site.
But, in a ruling today, Mrs Justice Steyn dismissed Dr Maxey’s application and ordered that a penal notice should be attached to a previous High Court order which said the protesters should stop tunnelling and leave the tunnels.
It comes as demonstrations continued this morning, with bright pink paint daubed over the DfT’s London offices.
Anti-HS2 protesters have smeared bright pink paint over the Department for Transport’s London headquarters as the eco mob continues its demonstrations over the rail hub
Snow covers the top of a wooden structure at the site of the HS2 Rebellion encampment in Euston Square Gardens earlier this week
Enforcement agents walk at a makeshift camp as Extinction Rebellion activists occupy tunnels under Euston Square Gardens
Why is the £98bn HS2 rail project so controversial?
The Woodland Trust, a conservation charity, calls HS2 ‘a grave threat to the UK’s ancient woods, with 108 at risk of loss or damage’.
But HS2 says only 0.29 square kilometres (0.11 square miles) of ancient woodland will be lost during the first phase. HS2 says it will reduce journey times between London and northern England and add capacity to Britain’s crowded rail network.
Critics question whether HS2 is worth its ballooning price tag – now reported more than £100billion – especially after a pandemic that might permanently change people’s travel habits.
The first phase linking London and Birmingham is due to open between 2029 and 2033, according to HS2 Ltd.
In September Boris Johnson joined the front line to see work begin on HS2, as shovels hit the ground in Solihull.
He said the ‘incredible’ scheme, launched in 2009, would deliver not just ‘22,000 jobs now, but tens of thousands more high-skilled jobs in the decades ahead’.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told MPs last year the first trains may not be up and running until 2031. The project has been shrouded in controversy since its birth, with campaigners warning it is ‘decimating countryside and creating a huge financial burden’.
In April wildlife presenter Chris Packham lost a High Court bid to stop ancient woodlands being dug up for the project.
There was also uproar when HS2’s annual report revealed each person working on it was costing the taxpayer almost £100,000 on average.
It also revealed chief executive Mark Thurston was paid £659,416 last year – four times as much as the PM. More than £3.3million was spent on ‘travel and subsistence’ and £802,000 on recruitment fees.
The judge said the evidence shows that the tunnel is ‘poorly constructed and liable to collapse’ and that Dr Maxey and other protesters are in a ‘highly dangerous situation’, while the danger is ‘equally grave’ for those attempting to remove them.
She added: ‘At present, there is nothing hindering the claimant and other protesters from leaving the tunnel and several of the protesters have done so over the course of the last week.’
The judge said media reports suggest the protesters went into the tunnels with about six weeks of supplies and there is no evidence they lack food and water.
She added: ‘But in any event, they are not detained or stuck in the tunnel: they are choosing to remain there as trespassers.
‘Any contention that the defendant has an obligation to supply them with food and water, to enable them to remain longer in the highly dangerous situation they are currently in, is misconceived.
‘The defendant has in fact been removing human waste and has made clear it will continue to do so, although as Ms Sheikh points out, the need to deal with such materials, particularly with an ongoing pandemic, serves to reinforce the importance of bringing the occupation of the tunnel to an end.’
She said that, on the evidence placed before her, there is ‘no realistic prospect’ of the court finding HS2 was breaching its duty to the protesters.
The judge added: ‘The claimant has not come close to establishing a strong enough case to justify the court stopping the operations to remove those who are in the tunnel, given the compelling evidence as to how dangerous it is for them to remain there.’
Mrs Justice Steyn said the previous urgent court order, made late last Monday by Mr Justice Robin Knowles, should remain in place and have a penal notice attached – which means Dr Maxey could face contempt of court proceedings.
She said the part of the order requiring Dr Maxey to provide details of the layout, size and engineering of the tunnel is a ‘just and convenient order made with a view to securing the end of the claimant’s trespass by removing him safely and consistently with his right to life’.
Barrister Josh Hitchens, representing Dr Maxey, told the court on Wednesday that the environmental campaigner no longer wishes to pursue his claim for judicial review against HS2.
Dr Maxey originally filed a challenge against HS2’s decision to extract the protesters from the tunnels and over an alleged failure to ‘safely manage’ the site.
Mr Hitchens also told the court that Dr Maxey’s legal team only became aware that the Health and Safety Executive had required changes to be made at the site of the tunnels during Tuesday’s hearing.
A statement issued on behalf of HS2 said: ‘The decision of the court today is utterly unambiguous – that HS2 Ltd is carrying out the eviction correctly and that the illegal trespassers are breaking the law and should remove themselves from the tunnel immediately.
Six HS2 Rebellion activists including veteran environmental campaigner Swampy, real name Daniel Hooper, and his son Rory are still occupying the tunnels dug in secret near Euston Station in Central London
Activists from the group Burning Pink claimed on Facebook that two members had ‘sent a message of love for our world and disdain at the corporate killing machine’
Police were stationed near the building this morning where paint had been thrown over the door, windows, walls and pavement
‘We urge Dr Maxey to comply with the order as soon as possible – for his safety and the safety of the other activists and the HS2 and emergency personnel tasked with removing the illegal trespassers.
‘HS2 will continue its operation to safely remove the illegal trespassers currently occupying an underground tunnel in Euston Square.’
Meanwhile, activists from the group Burning Pink claimed on Facebook after today’s stunt that two members had ‘sent a message of love for our world and disdain at the corporate killing machine’.
Police were stationed near the building this morning where paint had been thrown over the door, windows, walls and pavement.
The area in front of the building in Horseferry Road, Westminster, central London, was taped off while staff attempted to clean up the bright pink liquid.
Burning Pink said on Facebook it was ‘disgusted by the Department of Transport and their complicity in the demise of what little we have left in the way of nature and beauty’.
A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police said that two people had been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
A Government spokesman said: ‘We always recognise the right to peaceful protest, but there is no justification for acts of vandalism on public property which put frontline emergency service workers at risk during the pandemic.
‘HS2 is a long-term, low-carbon alternative to domestic flights, freight and driving which will be crucial to achieving our ambition of carbon net zero by 2050.’
It comes after a second secret protest tunnel underneath the capital was found yesterday by stunned bailiffs trying to clear away campaigners railing against plans to fell trees for flats.
Islington Council enforcement officers were gobsmacked to discover the burrow beneath Dixon Clark Court on Highbury Corner, Islington.
It was said to have been masterminded by veteran activist Swampy and the crew who had occupied tunnels below Euston Square against HS2.
The new crawlspace is part of the Highbury Corner Tree Protection Camp, which is protesting against the council over a six-storey block of private housing earmarked for the area.
They say a ‘little forest’ of seven mature trees will be lost, including Norwegian maple, sycamores and chestnuts.
It is strikingly similar to the tunnel plaguing bailiffs and enforcement officers at Euston Square Gardens.
A fortnight has passed since it was first found, with Swampy and others, including the children of a millionaire laird of an island, waiting it out in there.
Scotland Yard said that 37 arrests have been made at the protest site so far for various offences including breaches of coronavirus regulations, trespassing and offences under the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act.
Some 23 fixed-penalty notices have also been issued, a police spokesperson added.