Two British Olympians who blockaded an oil refinery with Extinction Rebellion this morning have described the protest as a “desperate act in a desperate time”.
Laura Baldwin, who sailed at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and Etienne Stott, a gold medallist in the canoe slalom at London 2012, are among 15 climate change activists who used a pink boat to barricade the entrance to the Fawley ExxonMobil plant in Hampshire.
They are urging the government to end all fossil fuel investments and demanding that ExxonMobil stop its expansion plans for the facility, the largest in Britain.
The group cut through electrified fences at about 6.30am, with seven scaling its 15m-tall oil silos to unveil banners and others attaching themselves to structures.
Baldwin, 41, said that she
