HS2 rail project protesters secretly dig and occupy tunnel at Euston station

One of the HS2 Rebellion group has said that they had between “13 to 17 protesters in the tunnel” at London’s Euston station

Over a dozen environmental activists have occupied a tunnel, which is around 30m (100ft, that they had secretly dug near the front of London’s Euston station in a protest against the HS2 rail project.

These protesters had been camping out for weeks in the Euston Square Gardens, which they have claimed are set be turned into a taxi terminal once the initial phase of the high-speed rail project is completed, costing the taxpayer £106bn.

“We have between 13 to 17 protesters in the tunnel and they have enough food and water down there to last for several weeks,” a member of the HS2 Rebellion group told Sky News.

Security staff for a private firm surrounded the makeshift camp in central London early in the morning as Metropolitan Police officers who were wearing harnesses arrived to remove protesters, some of whom had camped overnight in trees.

This comes after the Conservative party has acted illegally when collecting the data on ethnic backgrounds of 10 million British voters before the general election in 2019; the information commissioner has now told a committee of MPs.

A group of around 20 supporters who were standing nearby was dispersed by the Met police officers, citing COVID-19 regulations.

The group said that lawyers for the “Euston Square Gardens Protection Camp” had written to HS2 “advising them of the illegality of any such eviction attempt at this time”.

The HS2 Rebellion group claims that the planned HS2 rail-line, which is being put in place to link up London, the Midlands and the north of England, as well as Scotland, will see 108 of the nation’s ancient woodlands “destroyed” and “countless people being forced from their homes and businesses”.

A HS2 Ltd spokesperson said: “To ensure HS2 is able to deliver its major benefits to the UK on time, certain works must take place at designated times. HS2 has taken legal temporary possession of Euston Square Gardens East in order to progress with works necessary for the construction of the new Euston station.

“These protests are a danger to the safety of the protesters, our staff and the general public, and put unnecessary strain on the emergency services during a pandemic. The protesters are currently trespassing on land that is legally possessed by HS2.”

This comes after More than 30 on-duty police officers are set to be fined £200 each because they broke coronavirus rules while on duty, by having their hair cut. Scotland Yard said it had been informed that 31 officers had their hair trimmed by a professional barber at Bethnal Green police station in east London on Sunday the 17th of January.

“All leading environmental organisations agree that climate change is the biggest future threat to wildlife and habitats in the UK. By providing a cleaner, greener way to travel, HS2 will help cut the number of cars and lorries on our roads, cut demand for domestic flights, and help the country’s push to reduce carbon emissions.”

“HS2 has been approved by democratically elected MPs on multiple occasions and the project is playing a pivotal role in helping Britain’s economic recovery.”

“There are 13,000 people already working on the project and we recently announced a further 22,000 jobs across the country at a time when it needs them most.”