HS2: Bailiffs start evicting HS2 protesters from Euston camp – as police make arrests

Bailiffs today began evicting anti-HS2 protesters who secretly dug a 100ft tunnel network under a makeshift camp near London’s Euston Station with the help of veteran activist Swampy.

The HS2 Rebellion activists scaled cranes and clambered onto wooden platforms in the trees in Euston Square Gardens early this morning as enforcement officers moved in to remove the eco-warriors from the Tree Protection Camp, which was set up in September in protest against the £100billion project.

Police arrested six people, including three for breaches of Covid regulations, while one protester could be heard shouting as he was dragged from the camp by National Eviction Team bailiffs. Others barricaded themselves in two tunnels, codenamed ‘Kelvin’ and Kristal’.

The group, which is protesting HS2 plans to destroy the gardens by building a temporary taxi rank for Euston Station, claims an ‘illegal eviction’ began shortly before 5am today when enforcement officers ‘entered the camp under cover of darkness’.

They accused HS2 of ‘breaking the law by attempting an eviction without a court order and during the national coronavirus lockdown’ and said they were ‘prepared for a lengthy siege’ as they continued tunnelling despite the ongoing eviction.

An HS2 spokeswoman blasted the ‘illegal’ occupation and said it presented a ‘danger’ to HS2 staff and High Court enforcement officers. The Metropolitan Police said officers were deployed only to help bailiffs should there be any ‘breach of the peace’.

The HS2 rail project, which is set to link London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, and rebalance the UK’s economy, has been called ‘expensive, wasteful and destructive’ by environmentalists. 

Anti-HS2 protesters claim the line will destroy or irreparably damage 108 ancient woodlands and 693 wildlife sites, and that Euston Square Gardens will be built over with a temporary taxi rank before being sold off to developers. 

They added that ‘tree protectors’ were prepared to occupy the tunnels, dug ‘in secret’ over the last few months, and would stay underground ‘for as long as it takes to stop HS2’. 

Independent experts have estimated that the HS2 rail line will cost in excess of £100billion. However, HS2 disputes this, and claims it will cost up to £98billion.

MailOnline understands that HS2 has taken legal temporary possession of Euston Square Gardens East in order to relocate the temporary taxi rank for Euston Station. The current location of the taxi rank – Euston Square Gardens West – is required for preparatory works, including significant utilities diversions, to enable the improvements to the connections between Euston Square and Euston Underground stations, as well as for the construction of Euston’s new station.

HS2 served notices on the legal owners and occupiers of the land – London Borough of Camden, Network Rail and Transport for London – last month, stating our intention to take the site under the powers of Temporary Possession. 

It is understood that the notice period is over and HS2 is not entitled the take possession of the land, and any occupants on the land are now trespassing.

The current ban on evictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic is not applicable and the police, landowners and those with legal possession of the land have the power to remove trespassers using minimum force. 

HS2 bosses also insist that most ancient woodland will ‘remain intact’. Responding to the Euston Gardens encampment, a spokesperson said: ‘To ensure HS2 is able to deliver its major benefits to the UK on time, certain works must take place at designated times. 

‘HS2 has taken legal temporary possession of Euston Square Gardens East in order to progress with works necessary for the construction of the new Euston station. These protests are a danger to the safety of the protestors, our staff and the general public, and put unnecessary strain on the emergency services during a pandemic.

‘The protestors are currently trespassing on land that is legally possessed by HS2.’

The first phase of the rail link between London and Birmingham will not open until 2028 – while the second, to Manchester and Leeds, has been delayed until 2035-40. 

HS2 Rebellion called on the Government to scrap the scheme ‘before it is too late’ and argued for a National Citizens Assembly to ‘lead the way out of the climate and ecological emergency’. 

One protester, Blue Sanford, 18, from London, said: ‘I’m angry that the Government is still effectively ignoring this crisis despite declaring a climate and ecological emergency two years ago. 

‘I’m in this tunnel because they are irresponsibly putting my life at risk from the climate and ecological emergency. They are behaving in a way that is so reckless and unsafe that I don’t feel they are giving us any option but to protest in this way to help save our own lives and the lives of all the people round the world.’

Howard Rees, who was evicted from the site by police early this morning said: ‘The police cleared the site using Covid legislation early this morning so now there are only the people who are in the trees or in the tunnel.

‘This was home for some of us since August, well before lockdown, so how the police could use this legislation we are not sure.’ The 40-year-old did not see any violence as police cleared the scene.

Dr Larch Maxey, a climate scientist and Extinction Rebellion activist in the Euston Square Gardens camp, said: ‘The bailiffs arrived at about 4.30am and we had a scramble to get down the tunnel safely when the bailiffs arrived. They were in the next room when we barricaded ourselves in and shut the trap door.

‘We are going to stay here as long as it takes. We have some power packs, food and water, some tools to repair the tunnel as well as some books, juggling balls and playing cards to keep us entertained.

‘We can hear the people outside cheering us on as they drive past, that atmosphere is amazing.’

Bradley, 18, from London, arrived at the camp this morning to voice his anger at HS2. He said: ‘We’re protesting the HS2 project which is bad for the environment and future generations. I believe this project is absolutely going against the direction we as a species should be going in.  

‘The bailiffs are putting our lives at risk and this doesn’t need to happen now. That’s their choice, if they want come steal community land and put us in danger.’ 

Christopher, 65, from Wanstead, east London, has been visiting the camp on and off since they started protesting. He said: ‘We want to stop HS2 to protect our wildlife.

‘There’s a lot of wrong doing going on here. I haven’t been down the tunnels, but I have seen what’s coming out. It’s taken them three or four months I reckon.

‘I got a message on Facebook this morning about the eviction. I’ve spent a lot of time on the front line so I was expecting it to be honest.’

Josh, 22, who has spent a number of nights in the camp over the past few months said: ‘I came because it’s a lot more beautiful as a park than a taxi rank. It’s a way for me to voice my message which has been ignored by the company. We have toilets and a working kitchen up here.

‘There haven’t been any reporter cases of Covid in this camp and as you can see I’m wearing a mask. My biggest fear is when these guys come in and try nab me.

‘But if they want to get close, that’s their choice and I’m willing to take that risk.’

Tellheed, 53, from Manchester who joined the camp last Thursday, said: ‘I knew it was the end so I’ve come down to support them.

‘There’s a big tunnel with about five people down there locked on. It’s about six feet deep and looks like a tunnel out of The Great Escape.

‘They used shovels and little picks to dig. You can access it through the hut, but it’s pretty hidden.

‘If they had used it on The Great Escape, the whole prison would have got out. They’re going to be down there for a while because they have bedding, toilets and stocks of food.’

Sharon Banzhaf, 64, has visited the camp twice to deliver supplies. She said: ‘It’s actually quite scary in there because there are no lights. 

‘I brought them some sleeping bags, socks and jumpers last week. They dig at night and sleep during the day.’

After watching their friend be forcibly removed by bailiffs Josh, 22, said: ‘It makes me feel frustrated.

‘Our approach has always been peaceful. We have not been violent with anyone and we try to be respectful, so it’s frustrating when we don’t get that same level of respect back.’

A spokesperson for the Met told MailOnline: ‘Six arrests have been made at the site of a protest in Euston Square Gardens. One man was arrested for breach of the peace and a short time later was de-arrested and released.

‘A woman was arrested under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act. One man was arrested under the Public Order Act, while a further three men were arrested under the Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020. A police presence remains at the site to prevent further potential breaches of the peace and to uphold Covid legislation.’ 

Video footage from inside, filmed by activists, shows a cramped, winding passage with wooden props against its walls. In some parts they can be seen removing loose earth with just a trowel. 

A spokesman for the group said Swampy, real name Daniel Hooper, had been an ‘invaluable source of expertise’ in helping to dig the tunnel. The group said last night that it expects to face eviction ‘imminently’. 

It said tunnellers ‘worked around the clock, using pickaxes, shovels, buckets and shifts of two to 12 people at a time’. The entrance is concealed by a ‘fortified stronghold’, complete with a tower built from pallets, which activists have nicknamed Buckingham Pallets. 

Activists are living in a main chamber of the tunnel, with stashes of tinned food and vegetables stored along its length.

Blue told the BBC the tunnel was ‘very dangerous and life threatening’ but it was their ‘best defence’ against being evicted. ‘It is not about us martyring ourselves, it is about delaying and stopping HS2,’ he said. 

‘This is the only way I can effect change, I would sacrifice everything for the climate ecological emergency to not be happening.’ 

The spokeswoman for HS2 Ltd said: ‘Illegal action such as this is costly to the taxpayer and a danger to the safety of the activists, HS2 staff, High Court enforcement officers and the general public, as well as putting unnecessary strain on the emergency services during the pandemic.

‘Safety is our first priority when taking possession of land and removing illegal encampments.’ 

She said HS2 will provide ‘a cleaner, greener way to travel, helping to cut the number of cars and lorries on our roads, reduce demand for domestic flights, and help the country to cut its carbon emissions in the fight against climate change’. 

The spokeswoman added that HS2 has been approved by MPs on ‘multiple occasions’, will support Britain’s economic recovery and is providing thousands of jobs. 

Construction work started in September on Phase 1 of HS2 from London to Birmingham. Phase 2a is planned to run from Birmingham to Crewe, and Phase 2b from Crewe to Manchester, and from Birmingham to Leeds. 

The Government-commissioned Oakervee Review considered a cost estimate for the project by an external consultant that put its final bill at £106.6 billion in fourth quarter of 2015 prices.

The review commissioned a comparative analysis of this estimate and those by HS2 Ltd and said characteristics of major rail infrastructure cost plans, according to evidence from Network Rail, were ‘not evident’ in the external estimate.

The review said it seemed amounts allocated towards major construction works were too low, and amounts allocated towards rail systems seemed too high.

Despite it running tens of billions of pounds over budget and several years behind schedule, Boris Johnson gave the green light for the railway in February 2020.