Stopping flow of fuel by flipping safety switches on forecourts
Greenpeace activists claim to have disabled every BP petrol station in London, incuding Gunnersbury Park and Ealing.
However, we contacted Gunnersbury Park BP and they told us: "We were affected by this but no damage has been done and we are selling petrol as normal this morning."
The co-ordinated campaign started at dawn today, Tuesday 27th July, and within a matter of hours, Greenpeace claim to have closed down 46 garages in the capital.
But BP say only 12 were actually forced to close, and they would be re-opened as soon as it was safe to do so.
The protests coincided with BP's second-quarter results where the oil company reported a US$17 billion loss and it confirmed Chief Executive Tony Hayward would be standing down.
Greenpeace and BP said activists stopped the flow of fuel by flipping safety switches on forecourts before removing them to prevent the service stations from reopening.
'Team Skimmers' stated on the Greenpeace website: "The Skimmers are off! First station shut down! - Second station disabled and notices up! Still feeling sleepy but not half as asleep as the petrol stations we shut down. Plenty more where that came from!"
BP described the protest as "an irresponsible and childish act which is interfering with safety systems.
July 27, 2010