Protester speaks of relief as energy supplier drops £5m lawsuit (From The Argus)
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Protester speaks of relief as energy supplier drops £5m lawsuit
12:00pm Sunday 17th March 2013 in News
A protestor has spoken of his relief after an energy firm announced it has dropped a £5 million lawsuit against him.
Alistair Cannell, of Bevendean, was part of a 21-strong group who broke into an EDF Energy power plant to protest against plans to build up to 40 new gas power stations.
The activists, who formed part of the No Dash for Gas campaign group, scaled towers and abseiled inside chimney stacks as part of a week-long protest in October last year.
Each protester was convicted of aggravated trespass this month but were then slapped with a civil suit by the energy provider.
However in a humiliating climb-down, the suit has now been dropped following strong public opposition, including an online petition which attracted 64,000 signatures in less than a month.
Mr Cannell told The Argus: “It’s great news and shows that people power works and has forced EDF to back down.
“The suit had started to cost them money with the number of people starting to switch providers.
“It is a relief because there was no way I was able to pay off that ridiculous amount of money.”
Mr Cannell said he was still subject to an injunction which prevented him from going near power stations but said it would not affect him or his fellow protesters.
The 23-year-old was among the first in the country to be arrested under new anti-squatting laws in September last year.
He is due to appear at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on April 22 charged with squatting in a residential building, abstracting electricity and obstructing a police officer.
He was also arrested for gluing his hands to the BHS shop window in Brighton in 2011, but the case was never prosecuted.
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Comments(9)
Surely not!
says...
12:41pm Sun 17 Mar 13
SomethingsarejustwroYes more power to the multinational french owned power utilities which have our best interests at heart.
ng wrote:
What a shame, if only the civil action had been progressed!
Looking forward to a robust outcome in the squatting case
Somethingsarejustwro
ng you are a turkey voting for Christmas. I would envy you your rather daft outlook on life if it appeared to make you happier. Judging by your postings on here you are a bit of a miserable sod.
RottingdeanRant
says...
1:27pm Sun 17 Mar 13
John Steed
says...
2:01pm Sun 17 Mar 13
theleftygiraffe
says...
2:06pm Sun 17 Mar 13
RottingdeanRant
says...
2:19pm Sun 17 Mar 13
theleftygiraffe wrote:No - it means the police and others are attempting to make him take responsibility.
Doesn't the fact that he's going to court mean that he is indeed taking responsibility for his actions?
Somethingsarejustwrong
says...
8:03pm Sun 17 Mar 13
Surely not! wrote:Au Contrare Rodders
SomethingsarejustwroYes more power to the multinational french owned power utilities which have our best interests at heart.
ng wrote:
What a shame, if only the civil action had been progressed!
Looking forward to a robust outcome in the squatting case
Somethingsarejustwro
ng you are a turkey voting for Christmas. I would envy you your rather daft outlook on life if it appeared to make you happier. Judging by your postings on here you are a bit of a miserable sod.
We just need to get some of these idiots banged up in recognition of the nuisance caused. Serial wasters deserve special focus; do you fall in this category?
Surely not!
says...
10:00pm Sun 17 Mar 13
Somethingsarejustwrohaha I certainly regard you as a serial waster with your silly little campaigns.
ng wrote:
Surely not! wrote:Au Contrare Rodders
SomethingsarejustwroYes more power to the multinational french owned power utilities which have our best interests at heart.
ng wrote:
What a shame, if only the civil action had been progressed!
Looking forward to a robust outcome in the squatting case
Somethingsarejustwro
ng you are a turkey voting for Christmas. I would envy you your rather daft outlook on life if it appeared to make you happier. Judging by your postings on here you are a bit of a miserable sod.
We just need to get some of these idiots banged up in recognition of the nuisance caused. Serial wasters deserve special focus; do you fall in this category?
redwing
says...
11:15am Mon 18 Mar 13
RottingdeanRant wrote:Time for some facts-
I think it is a real pity that EDF changed their minds. Alistair Cannell needs to take responsibility for his actions. He is clearly an irresponsible individual and in court again on 22 Apr.
EDF (Électricité de France) is the worlds 2nd largest energy utility company with 2011 profits of €14bn on €65.3bn in sales. This winter, EDF hiked their prices 11%, pushing an estimated 440,000 UK households into fuel poverty.
Gas reliance spells disaster for the climate. Government’s own Committee on Climate Change recently wrote to George Osborne to say that increasing our dependence on gas would be illegal due to existing climate change legislation.
Well done Alistair. You're providing a vital public service, alerting us to huge injustices. Keep squatting. All power to you!
EDF customers are fed up with being screwed by the big six with their cartel on prices.
Somethingsarejustwrong says...
12:31pm Sun 17 Mar 13
Looking forward to a robust outcome in the squatting case