UK Protesters 'More Harmful than Fracking'

Protestors who disrupt hydraulic fracturing (fracking) are a bigger nuisance to the locals than the fracking itself, said Cuadrilla CEO Francis Egan June 28. The company has shale gas operations at Preston New Road, Lancashire which have been hit by trespassers blocking roads and vehicle access.

In a statement issued after three people were found guilty of contempt of court by breaching an injunction, he said: "We respect the right to legal and peaceful protest but too often we have seen the opposite with dangerous, disrespectful and illegal activity around our shale gas exploration site in Preston New Road. Local people, our staff and contractors have rights too and they must be equally protected.

“What we are hearing, on a day to day basis from our local communities, is that the disruptive activities of a small group of activists is their main problem. Not Cuadrilla. Not the exaggerated claims about micro seismicity which causes no more vibration than that experienced everyday by standing by a busy road and not the hydraulic fracture process itself, which the wide ranging and comprehensive regulatory monitoring of our operations has proven to be safe.

“The court heard how the defendants acted in ways that were dangerous and designed to cause maximum disruption to people who daily use Preston New Road to go to and from work or drop their children at school. The defendants wrongly believed that their illegal protest should be allowed to interfere with and supersede everyone else’s right to work, travel or go about their day to day business.

“Cuadrilla is genuinely sorry for the inconvenience experienced by local people and will do everything possible to minimise it, including through legal means such as this injunction.”