Protesters chain themselves to Lord Mandelsons' house
Monday, 10 August 2009 12:00 AM
By Liz Stephens
Members of the Climate Rush campaign group have chained themselves to Lord Mandelson's London home in protest over the job losses at Vestas , as the peer takes over the reins of government.
Several climate change protesters gathered outside the two-storey house in Regent's Park in an "act of solidarity" with the 625 ex-workers who lost their jobs at the wind turbine plant on the Isle of Wight.
The protest coincides with Lord Mandelson's return from his Corfu holiday.
The business secretary will be covering for Gordon Brown in Downing Street while the prime minister is on holiday.
Protester Ellie Robson said: "Less than two weeks after announcing the government's plans for a low-carbon Britain, Vestas shut down because there's no demand for wind turbines in this country.
"Mandelson, the man in charge of the nation's purse strings, jets off to Corfu and ignores the Vestas workers' occupation.
"If we're going to have a low-carbon Britain then we need our government to support these workers, rather than forcing the closure of their factory and the loss of their jobs."
Another protester Ali Freeman held aloft a banner bearing the slogan "Mandy, put some wind in Vestas' sales."
She said: "We will stay here as long as it takes."
An occupation of the Vestas factory on the Isle of Wight ended last week when workers left the building after the company obtained a court order to evict them from the premises.
The issue has attracted an unlikely coalition of support with climate change activists and trade unionists joining forces to protest against the closure of the wind turbine makers.
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