Anger at Surrey oil drilling ‘hypocrisy’

“A case in the Court of Appeal is threatening to overshadow the prime minister’s attempts in Glasgow next month to convince world leaders to sign up to more ambitious targets to reduce their fossil fuel emissions.”

That’s not campaigners talking, but that bastion of the English Establishment, The Times newspaper.

In a powerful article, the paper points out the hypocrisy of the government defending the decision by Surrey County Council to allow the drilling of four new oil wells and possible production of three million tonnes of oil at Horse Hill, just days after the COP26 climate summit concludes.

It quotes Dave Timms, Head of Political Affairs at Friends of the Earth, who said, “It’s the height of hypocrisy for the government to claim to be a climate leader on the global stage while piling into court to defend a decision to allow millions of barrels of oil to be drilled out of the Surrey countryside. They need to withdraw from this case, now.”

We couldn’t have put it better ourselves.

Unfortunately, the article is only available to Times subscribers. If you’re one of those, you can read it here: www.thetimes.co.uk/article/anger-at-surrey-oil-drilling-hypocrisy

The Weald Action Group has supported Sarah Finch, the claimant in this case, with fundraising for legal fees. Thanks to the generosity of many local organisations and individuals, Sarah has almost met her target. An auction will be launched later this month to raise the small amount that remains.

Read more about the legal challenge