Ten arrested after Greenpeace activists hang from Forth Road Bridge

Ten people have been arrested after protesters suspended themselves from the Forth Road Bridge as part of a demonstration over plastic pollution.

Police Scotland closed the bridge in South Queensferry to all traffic following reports of the protest around 1.05pm on Friday.

Greenpeace say ten protesters suspended off the structure with the aim of stopping an INEOS tanker from reaching Grangemouth oil refinery.

The Greenpeace climbers abseiled from beneath the bridge’s service walkway, unfurling six giant ‘Plastics Treaty Now’ banners.

Police confirmed on Saturday that ten people, five men aged between 35 and 40, and five women, aged between 25 and 42, were arrested in connection.

Enquiries remain ongoing.

A spokesperson said: “Ten people have been arrested following a protest on the Forth Road Bridge on Fri, 25 July. The protest was reported to police around 1.05pm.

“Five men, aged between 35 and 40, and five women, aged between 25 and 42, were arrested in connection and further enquiries are ongoing.”

On Saturday morning Greenpeace announced it had ended the demonstration, saying they had “achieved what we set out to”.

Amy Cameron, Programme Director at Greenpeace UK said: “We’ve achieved what we set out to. By blocking INEOS, we’ve drawn global attention to the company’s bottomless appetite for plastic production, false solutions and profit for its billionaire boss Jim Ratcliffe.

“Their feeble suggestion that recycling and managing waste can hand them a free pass to go on producing more plastic forever is laughable. It comes from the same industry playbook as the health benefits of smoking and carbon offsetting.

Describing the “plastic pollution problem” as being “massive”, she added: “Less than 10% of plastic is currently recycled globally, and this is set to rise to just 17% by 2060, while the amount of plastic we’re producing is set to triple.

“The only solution is to address the problem at source which means securing a strong global plastics treaty that imposes legally-binding caps on plastic production.”

“INEOS are cutting jobs at Grangemouth while trying to open a massive new plastics plant in Belgium, leaving Scottish workers high and dry. If Jim Ratcliffe really cared about skilled jobs in Scotland he’d invest his billions in supporting his workers to transition into the green industries of the future, instead of throwing money at Formula 1 racing teams and football clubs.”