Just Stop Oil activist lashes out at Government over Cumbria coal mine- ‘Taking us back to the Dark Ages!’

A Just Stop Oil activist has hit out at the Government for giving the Cumbria coal mine the green light.

The underground mine on the edge of Whitehaven in Cumbria, the first of its kind for 30 years, was approved by the Government following a series of delays.

It is expected to extract nearly 2.8 million tonnes of coal per year for use in steel making, rather than power generation, and backers say the scheme will create around 500 jobs for the local area.

But opponents warn it will create more greenhouse gas emissions and say is hypocritical in the wake of UK efforts on the international stage to show climate leadership and urge the world to give up on coal.

Lora Johnson joined Esther McVey and Philip Davies on GB News and shared her frustration at the Government’s green policy.

The underground mine was approved by the Government following a series of delays
West Cumbria Mining

She said: “What world leading green engineering are we seeing from our Government?

“In Sweden they’ve they've just started making steel with green hydrogen and Sunak and his suicidal government want to open Cumbrian coal mines.

“We are not world leaders. That's a lie. I tell you what we are world leaders in, we are world leaders in the UK, in biodiversity, in habitat loss.

“We've got a government that want to rip up 570 laws protecting our wildlife.

“We have sewage spewing into the sea. Honestly, Cumbrian coal mines, really?

“If government wasn’t going to open coal mines and take us back to the Dark Ages, I mean, honestly, we'll have children up chimneys by Christmas will we? Next week will Prime Minister's Question time be on VHS? We're not world leaders.”

The scheme was approved by the Government following a series of delays, with backers claiming it will create around 500 jobs for the local area.

Business and engineering experts have questioned the investment in an “1850s technology” to supply coal for steel manufacture as the sector looks to shift to cleaner production methods.

And they warned it sent the wrong signal to industry about climate commitments to cutting emissions to zero overall – known as net zero – by 2050.