off. Three tunnels were found close to a tent that the three were believed to be sleeping in. The tunnels started on the roadside embankment and two of them clearly went under the road. The entrances were carefully prepared and concealed in the undergrowth. Police agreed that they were ‘lock in’ positions for protestors intending to cause a road closure along one of the two approach roads to the oil terminals. The road was closed awaiting structural survey. I have retained a collection of the images taken by my staff at the scene. Tuesday 23rd August 2022 6.6.21 During the morning protestors obstructed a tanker in Trinity Road, approximately 1km from the Valero Terminal. There was also an obstruction of the highway close to the Shell terminal entrance on Piccadilly Way. I understand that both incidents led to arrests and a temporary blockage for road tankers trying to access the Valero site. Later that afternoon another tunnel was discovered under the road on Trinity Way, between the roundabout of the A51 and the Shell terminal. It was reported that protestors had locked themselves into positions within the tunnel. Police were forced to close the road meaning that all road tanker traffic into the Kingsbury Terminal had to approach via Trinity road and the north. It then became clear that the tunnels found on Trinity Road the previous day had been scheduled for use at the same time to create a total closure of the two routes into the fuel terminals. 6.6.22 The closure of Piccadilly Way continued for another two days whilst protestors were removed and remediation work was completed to fill in the tunnels. Wednesday 14th September 2022 6.6.23 There was serious disruption to the Valero Terminal after protestors blocked the entrance to the private access road. I believe that Police made fifty one arrests before the area was cleared to allow road tankers to access the terminal. 6.6.24 Tanker movements were halted for just over seven hours between mid-day and 19:00 hrs. On Saturday 16th July and Sunday 17th July 2022, the group known as Extinction Rebellion staged a protest in Plymouth city centre. The protest was planned and disclosed to the police in advance and included a march of about two hundred people from the city centre down to the entrance to the Valero Plymouth Terminal in Oakfield Terrace Rd. The access to the terminal was blocked for about two hours. Road tanker movements were re- scheduled in advance minimising any disruption to fuel supplies.”
I note that the events of 16 th July 2022 are out of chronological order.
14 30. In his 5 th witness statement the main threats identified by Mr Blackhouse were; (1) protesters directly entering the 8 Sites. He stated there had been serious incidents in the 75
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