Published: 29 July, 2010
by JOSH LOEB

CAMDEN was the “nerve centre” for a Greenpeace protest that saw all 50 BP petrol stations in London shut down.

In the early hours of on Tuesday, activists stopped the flow of oil to pumps in stations across the capital by removing shut-off switches. 

BP’s station in Hampstead Road, near Euston, was the base for the publicity drive. 

Activists gave out flyers to passers-by on Hampstead Road, put up fences around the station and replaced BP’s logo with a new version showing the company’s green “sunflower” sinking into a sea of oil.

Speaking outside the Hampstead Road station, Greenpeace executive director John Sauven said: “The moment has come for BP to move beyond oil. Under Tony Hayward the company went backwards, squeezing the last drops of oil from places like the Gulf of Mexico, the tar sands of Canada and even the fragile Arctic wilderness.

“We’ve shut down all of BP’s stations in London to give the new boss [Bob Dudley] a chance to come up with a better plan.” 

Activists, who took part in training exercises and reconnaissance before the action, took just 15 minutes to close down the Hampstead Road station. The protest follows the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico.

A BP spokesman described the stunt as “an irresponsible and childish act which is interfering with safety systems”.