“I fail to see however, how trying to disrupt the provision of sanitation and water to a peaceful protest is anything other than underhanded and inflammatory. As a local resident and supporter of the camp I feel that is a disgraceful and unwarranted action,” said Medway resident Andy Rogers.

“We are really disappointed that after so many weeks of carefully building up good relations with the police, they would choose to behave in such an unjustifiably heavy-handed manner,” said camper Tanya Singh.

Undeterred, campers continued to get the site ready for Sunday's opening.

Although police claimed to be searching for materials that could be used on the 9th August day of action, their search focused on items such as guy-ropes for safely securing marquees, radios used in medical emergencies, and building materials essential for the construction of compost toilets. The seizures went as far as the confiscation of such ridiculous items as a bicycle repair kit, three board games and a pack of children's crayons.

“We never knew that our compost toilets posed such a threat to the fabric of society,” said Harry Lister. “It is particularly frustrating that this coincides with the launch of a new report that conclusively shows that the sustainable technologies that we are demonstrating at the camp are feasible on a mass scale across the country.”

The report, released today [1] by respected energy consultants Poyry, lays out in detail how it is entirely possible to meet emissions reductions targets and meet our energy needs without resorting to building new coal-fired power plants.

“E.ON's claim that coal is necessary is simply untrue. The only reason to keep burning coal in this country is to keep lining the pockets of E.ON,” said climate camper Singh.

“This new evidence provides even more reason for people to come down to Kingsnorth and stop this dirty, coal-fired plant from being built,” said Lister.

ENDS

For comment from the camp, call Alex Harvey on 07932 096677 or Connor O’Brian on 07530 306267 To contact the media team in London, call 07772 861 099

Notes to editors

[1] The report can be downloaded from www.ilexenergy.com

www.climatecamp.org.uk