ENVIRONMENTAL activists from Greenpeace this week occupied the barren, rocky Atlantic Ocean island of Rockall in protest against oil exploration in the area.

Three group members have installed themselves in a bright yellow "solar survival capsule" that was airlifted by helicopter from the MV Greenpeace on to a rocky ledge on the island 460 kilometres away from the Scottish mainland.

"Science shows the climate cannot survive the burning of the oil we've already got," said campaign director Chris Rose. "It is an insane and hypocritical policy to look for more. Greenpeace disputes the moral and political right of the UK to develop this ocean for more oil."

The British Foreign Office indicated there would be no immediate response to the occupation. An official said the island was a part of Britain and that activists could visit it if they wanted to.

An official at the Department of Trade and Industry, the oil exploration licensing authority, said: "Environmental concerns are addressed in the licensing process."

The protest was dismissed by a spokesman for the UK Offshore Operators' Association as a "publicity stunt". He said: "Greenpeace are trivialising by their actions a very serious issue."

A spokeswoman for the environmental group said it was not particularly looking for a response from the oil industry. "It's the government that must take the initiative" in moving away from fossil fuel dependency, she claimed.

The action on Rockall followed a statement by Greenpeace earlier in the week that it would take the British government to court over "its failure to apply European law in the Atlantic frontier".

The group said it was giving President of the Board of Trade Margaret Beckett 10 days to respond to allegations that the government had ignored the European Habitats Directive in relation to protection of cold water coral in the Atlantic Frontier before lodging the matter with the High Court in London.