Greenpeace set for 'indefinite' oil protest on inhospitable Rockall

GREENPEACE has seized control of Rockall in the North Atlantic in protest at plans for further oil exploration in the area.

Three protesters were landed by helicopter on the inhospitable outcrop 290 miles from the Scottish coast and will remain "indefinitely", taking shelter in a purpose-built survival capsule.

The international environmental campaign group said it would hand back the rock only after Britain suspended the 17th offshore licensing round which will allow more than 30 companies to drill for oil in what is known as the Atlantic Frontier.

Opposition to the occupation, however, looks unlikely. A government spokesman said last night that Rockall was simply a piece of British territory and the campaigners were welcome to stay as long as they could.

Four campaigners will staff the 12ft by 6ft capsule in rotation with one always "off duty" on the support vessel MV Greenpeace which is permanently stationed nearby.

The capsule, which is bolted with steel pins onto Rockall's only sizeable ledge, contains computers and communications equipment powered by solar and wind-generated electricity.

The only British protester, a 32-year-old former builder and musician whose name was simply given as Al said: "The seas around Rockall, potentially rich in oil, are fought over by four nations - Britain, Denmark, Iceland and Ireland.

"By seizing Rockall, we claim her seas for the planet and all it's people."

He added: "No one has the right to unleash this oil onto our threatened climate."

The other members of the crew are Meike, 31, a German woman who previously worked on the Brent Spar campaign, Eric, 25, the Dutch owner of a steeplejack company and Peter, 40, from Australia, who has experience of voluntary work in Bosnia, Burundi and Rwanda.

Some form of direct action by Greenpeace was anticipated after it announced it's intention to campaign against the exploration, which it believes is unsustainable given the global warming effects of burning fossil fuels.

BP, one of the major beneficiaries of the new licensing round, was so concerned at the prospects of another Brent Spar style stunt that it threatened the environmental campaigners with legal action if it disrupted its activities.

In a separate move, Greenpeace has threatened the Government with legal action of its own over the alleged failure to implement European conservation directives in relation to the proposed oil exploration.

The organisation wrote to the President of the Board of Trade, Margaret Beckett, warning her that she has ten days to respond to their claims before the matter is lodged before the high court with a request for leave for a judicial review.

Greenpeace urged Ms Beckett to consider suspending the oil and gas exploration licences until the obligations in the directives have been met.

A spokesman for the Department of Trade and Industry said it would deal with any legal action as and when it arises.

"As for the exploration itself, by developing our resources we don't necessarily increase the use of fossil fuels...if we develop this field it is simply used to keep up the present level of supply. If we didn't, the demand would still be there but it would be met by imports".