A Tory backbencher has led calls for the immediate removal of the ‘dangerous’ anti-HS2 campsite in Euston, including wooden shacks which cover a 100ft tunnel network – after bailiffs first started evicting eco-warriors protesting the controversial £98billion rail project 13 days ago.
Six HS2 Rebellion activists including veteran environmental campaigner Swampy, real name Daniel Hooper, and his son Rory are still occupying the tunnels dug in secret near Euston Station in Central London.
MailOnline understands that the operation to remove the protesters will be done in a particular order to support HS2’s ‘safety-led approach’, and that the wooden shacks – which cover the tunnels – will be removed at an ‘appropriate point’. The National Eviction Team, which is leading the operation, declined to comment.
But HS2’s hesitancy has sparked criticism, with Tory MP Andrew Mitchell calling the campsite ‘a dangerous place’. Speaking to MailOnline, he said: ‘The youngsters who are now occupying the tunnels are breaking the law. The protesters need to be moved on and the camp should be torn down immediately.’
Scotland Yard said that 37 arrests have been made at the protest site so far for various offences including breaches of coronavirus regulations, trespassing and offences under the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act. Twenty-three fixed-penalty notices have also been issued, a police spokesperson added.
The first activist to leave the site was a 17-year-old female who was arrested on Friday and will appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court today over a breach of existing bail conditions.
Snow covers the top of a wooden structure at the site of the HS2 Rebellion encampment in Euston Square Gardens in central London
A National Enforcement Team bailiff stands watch at the site of the HS2 Rebellion encampment in Euston Square Gardens in central London
Wood from felled trees lies on the ground at the site of the HS2 Rebellion encampment in Euston Square Gardens in central London
Why is the £98bn HS2 rail project so controversial?
The Woodland Trust, a conservation charity, calls HS2 ‘a grave threat to the UK’s ancient woods, with 108 at risk of loss or damage’.
But HS2 says only 0.29 square kilometres (0.11 square miles) of ancient woodland will be lost during the first phase. HS2 says it will reduce journey times between London and northern England and add capacity to Britain’s crowded rail network.
Critics question whether HS2 is worth its ballooning price tag – now reported more than £100billion – especially after a pandemic that might permanently change people’s travel habits.
The first phase linking London and Birmingham is due to open between 2029 and 2033, according to HS2 Ltd.
In September Boris Johnson joined the front line to see work begin on HS2, as shovels hit the ground in Solihull.
He said the ‘incredible’ scheme, launched in 2009, would deliver not just ‘22,000 jobs now, but tens of thousands more high-skilled jobs in the decades ahead’.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told MPs last year the first trains may not be up and running until 2031. The project has been shrouded in controversy since its birth, with campaigners warning it is ‘decimating countryside and creating a huge financial burden’.
In April wildlife presenter Chris Packham lost a High Court bid to stop ancient woodlands being dug up for the project.
There was also uproar when HS2’s annual report revealed each person working on it was costing the taxpayer almost £100,000 on average.
It also revealed chief executive Mark Thurston was paid £659,416 last year – four times as much as the PM. More than £3.3million was spent on ‘travel and subsistence’ and £802,000 on recruitment fees.
At the weekend a second protester, Lazer Sandford, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass after also leaving the tunnel system. The 20-year-old had locked himself in place underground using a metal device encased in concrete as he refused bailiffs’ requests to leave the tunnel.
A spokesman for the HS2 Rebellion group said Mr Sandford left in exchange for supplies including hygiene and sanitary products and lights for the remaining demonstrators. A 23-year-old man was also arrested under the Health Protection Regulations.
HS2 Rebellion has called on the government to scrap the ‘expensive, unpopular and destructive’ rail project and claims plans will see Euston Square Gardens built over with a temporary taxi rank before being sold to developers.
The group has claimed that the protest in Euston is the ‘longest UK protest tunnel occupation in two decades’, breaking the 10-day record previously set by a pair of environmental campaigners in Derbyshire in 2008.
An HS2 Ltd spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘Two of the illegal trespassers have chosen to leave the tunnel to date, and we urge the others to follow as soon as possible.
‘We are doing all we can to end this illegal action safely, and we reiterate our message to those in the tunnels to comply with the court order and come out immediately – for their own safety and that of the HS2 staff, agents and emergency service personnel involved in this operation.’
A spokesperson for the Met Police said: ‘The Met has made 37 arrests at the protest site. Arrests have been made in relation to various offences, including breaches of Covid regulations, trespassing and offences under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act. Twenty-three Fixed Penalty Notices have been issued.
‘Police remain on scene at Euston Square Gardens to prevent any potential breach of the peace and to uphold Covid legislation. Protest is not an exemption from these rules. Any allegations of criminality made to police, including allegations from those protesting at the site, will be assessed and acted on accordingly.’
The HS2 rail project, which is set to link London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, and rebalance the UK’s economy, has been called ‘expensive, wasteful and destructive’ by environmentalists.
Anti-HS2 protesters claim the line will destroy or irreparably damage 108 ancient woodlands and 693 wildlife sites, and that Euston Square Gardens will be built over with a temporary taxi rank before being sold off to developers.
They added that ‘tree protectors’ were prepared to occupy the tunnels, dug ‘in secret’ over the last few months, and would stay underground ‘for as long as it takes to stop HS2’.
Independent experts have estimated that the HS2 rail line will cost in excess of £100billion. However, HS2 disputes this, and claims it will cost up to £98billion.
MailOnline understands that HS2 has taken legal temporary possession of Euston Square Gardens East in order to relocate the temporary taxi rank for Euston Station.
The current location of the taxi rank – Euston Square Gardens West – is required for preparatory works, including significant utilities diversions, to enable the improvements to the connections between Euston Square and Euston Underground stations, as well as for the construction of Euston’s new station.
HS2 served notices on the legal owners and occupiers of the land – London Borough of Camden, Network Rail and Transport for London – last month, stating our intention to take the site under the powers of Temporary Possession.
It is understood that the notice period is over and HS2 is not entitled the take possession of the land, and any occupants on the land are now trespassing.
The current ban on evictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic is not applicable and the police, landowners and those with legal possession of the land have the power to remove trespassers using minimum force. HS2 bosses also insist that most ancient woodland will ‘remain intact’.
Lazer Sandford was the second to leave the tunnels after several days underground as part of the protests
He later threw a peace sign to a watching crowd as he was led away from the entrance to the tunnel
Lazer is pictured during his 11-day stay underground, which is said to have ended in exchange for goods for the protestors
