KEY POINTS:
As climate change campaigners readied themselves for a weekend of direct action around Heathrow, nine activists took their protest against airport expansion to the heart of central London yesterday by gluing themselves to the doors of the Department of Transport.
Dressed as office workers in order to fool security guards, six protestors doused their hands in super glue, walked up to the department's headquarters on Horseferry Road at 8.10am yesterday morning and stuck their hands to main and side entrances.
Two others climbed up onto a platform above the main door and unfurled a protest banner condemning the government's plans to expand Heathrow airport.
Workers at the Department of Transport were left baffled and stranded outside their workplace for much of the next hour as security guards locked the building down amid security concerns.
Police and paramedics arrived shortly afterwards to remove the protestors who were taken to police stations at West Drayton, near Heathrow, and Staines approximately two hours later.
Much to the surprise of both police and the protestors themselves, a tourist who happened to be wandering by decided to spontaneously join the protest and chained himself to a separate door with his bike lock.
The tourist declined to give his name and when asked about his nationality said he was from "Wonderland".
Ten people, including the tourist, were arrested for aggravated trespass and the six activists who used superglue were arrested on an additional charge of committing criminal damage.
With both hands securely glued to the right hand door of the department's main entrance Leila Harris, who works as an administration assistant in a logistics company when not campaigning for the environment, said: "We're doing this today because the climate camp at Heathrow has effectively highlighted the link between climate change and aviation expansion.The government admits that aviation accounts for 13 per cent of greenhouse gasses and yet they are doing nothing to reduce that."
Mika Minio, 26, who had been at the Heathrow camp since its construction one week ago but snuck out last night, said protests over the weekend would not just be limited to the Heathrow area.
"This is just one of many actions being planned over the next few days to highlight the damage caused to the environment by climate change," he said.
The protestors, who were all in their twenties, had been at the climate change camp recently but said they were acting independently of the camp's organisers.
Feelings towards the protest in Whitehall were mixed with some passing cars and cyclists expressing support for the activists by beeping their horns as they passed.
Richard Saville, a historian making his way to work on the Strand said, "I think it's fantastic that young people are campaigning on issues that they feel strongly about."
But many workers at the Department for Transport were angry at the disruption.
"I think they're a bit narrow minded to be honest," said one employee as he took pictures of the protestors on his mobile phone.
One worker yesterday expressed some sympathy for the activists.
"I'm surprised [environmentalists] haven't targeted this place more often," she said.
"This is where the decisions are made after all. You get a lot of protests down the Home Office but rarely over here. It's all quite exciting really."
- INDEPENDENT
