Plane Stupid activist glues himself to Gordon Brown’s suit

22.7.2008   (Plane Stupid)
 

 

Last night at an awards ceremony in 10 Downing Street a campaigner against Heathrow
expansion superglued himself to Gordon Brown.   Dan Glass, a member of the direct
group Plane Stupid, superglued his hand to Brown’s jacket when he was introduced
to him.   As a red-faced Prime Minister struggled to get out of his jacket, Glass
made a speech about the impact a third runway at Heathrow would have on climate
change, asking Gordon to stick to his cllimate change policies.   The other award-winners
in the room broke into spontaneous applause.  

Dan Glass, a 24 year old MSc student based in Scotland, had sneaked the superglue
into Downing Street in his underpants.   He was visiting Number 10 as one of the
winners of the Sheila McKecknie awards which are given each year to promising
campaigners.  

Downing St has tried to play down the incident and will not be pressing charges.


A Plane Stupid spokesperson said, "Dan immediately informed Downing Street staff
that the most effective way of removing a super-glued campaigner from a world
leader is the application of soft, soapy warm water. He practised the procedure
numerous times to ensure there was no chance of injury to himself, and ensured
the glue had no contact with the PM’s skin, in line with Plane Stupid’s absolute
and uncompromising commitment to peaceful protest."  

HACAN Chair John Stewart, said, "Gordon Brown is going to face many more sticky
problems until he abandons his plans to expand Heathrow."

 

See comment by Dan Glass, at Guardian, Comment is free:

The sticky issue of climate change

Gordon Brown gave me the slip when I superglued myself to him this week. Here’s
what I would have said if he’d stayed stuck.
 By   Dan Glass.


Dan Glass 

22.7.2008     (Yahoo)

Downing Street laughed off an attempt by a climate-change protester to superglue
himself to Gordon Brown.

Activist Dan Glass had been attending an event in Number 10 to recognise the
contribution of the voluntary sector when he staged the demonstration.

As he was about to shake hands with the Prime Minister, Mr Glass – a member of
campaigning group Plane Stupid – tried to attach himself to his suit.

At the same time, he demanded to know why the Government was ignoring objections
to building a third runway at Heathrow airport.

Whitehall sources insisted the bid had been unsuccessful and there had never
been any threat to Mr Brown.

Police sources also stressed they did not believe there had been any security
breach, because Mr Glass was invited and did not cause any damage. The 24-year-old
has not been arrested.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “As far as we are concerned, nothing really
happened.

“There was a light-hearted and not particularly successful demonstration at a
reception that was being hosted at Downing Street.”

Mr Glass, 24, from Barnet, north London, was given a round of applause by the
audience as he urged the PM to change his mind on Heathrow expansion, he said.

Speaking afterwards, he said Mr Brown grinned at him and then pulled his hand
away when he realised it was stuck.

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see also

Indymedia     22.7.2008

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/07/404396.html

Plane Stupid Activist Glued To PM Inside Downing Street

 A campaigner from the climate action group, Plane Stupid, is currently super-glued
to Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the State Dining Room of 10 Downing Street.

Dan Glass, a 24 year old MSc student based in Scotland, gained access to the
PM’s official residence at 5pm this evening. He greeted Mr Brown and asked the
Prime Minister why he and his ministers have refused to meet West London residents
opposed to the construction of a third runway at Heathrow. He simultaneously put
his super-glue covered hand onto Brown’s polyester suit. When Brown went to turn
away he found he had been super-glued by his clothing to Plane Stupid, and had
no option but to listen to Dan.


 Dan read messages to the PM from people whose villages will be bulldozed if Brown
agrees to BAA’s expansion plans. He also read out testimony from communities across
the world threatened by climate change while Downing Street aides attempt to extract
the Labour leader from the green campaigner. Dan hoped to stay glued to the PM
long enough to begin quoting from confidential documents secured through the Freedom
of Information Act, which reveal the government’s public consultation on Heathrow
expansion was fixed. The papers reveal Ministers have engaged in an extraordinary
level of collusion with airport operator, BAA, fiddling pollution figures and
developing a joint strategy to beat opposition groups.

The government consultation received 80,000 responses from the public, almost
all of which opposed the government’s plans, despite the fact that people were
not even asked whether they wanted a third runway and no consideration of the
climate impacts appeared in the consultation documents.

Dan took today’s extraordinary step because Brown and his Transport Secretary,
Ruth Kelly, have refused to meet residents from Sipson – the west London village,
which would be wiped off the map if new Labour gives into BAA’s demands for a
third runway. Some of the messages Dan is reading out to the Prime Minister are
quotes from newspaper interviews with Sipson residents.

Plane Stupid activist, Graham Thompson who is currently facing prosecution for
scaling Parliament in February and branding the Palace of Westminster "BAA HQ,"
today said:

"Gordon Brown’s only got two possible legacies, the first Prime Minister to really
get climate change or the last one not to. Brown needs to realise we can beat
climate change, but not by doubling the size of the world’s biggest international
airport. That’s why we took our peaceful campaign from the roof of Parliament
to 10 Downing Street."

When BAA first sought permission to build Terminal 5, the company wrote to nearby
residents promising never to seek further Heathrow expansion. Now they have colluded
with the government to get a third runway and a sixth terminal by manipulating
the consultation process which has been widely condemned as unfair, undemocratic
and fundamentally dishonest.

Graham Thompson continued:

"Brown’s consultation was a fix, pure and simple. It was the single most anti-democratic
thing this wretched government has done since the Iraq war, and that’s saying
something. Dan thought that if super-gluing himself to the Prime Minister was
the only way to cut through the power of giant corporations like BAA and ensure
he hears what people from West London really think, then so be it."

 

see also

Telegraph   22.7.2008

Gordon Brown in sticky situation

A climate change activist attempted to superglue himself to Gordon Brown after
he was invited to Downing Street to receive an award for his protesting work.

 

Dan Glass, of the campaigning group Plane Stupid, tried to attach his hand to
the Prime Minister’s suit as the pair met at an event to recognise the contribution
of the voluntary sector.

The 24-year-old then demanded to know why the Government was refusing to meet
residents opposed to plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport.

“We cannot shake away climate change like you can just shake away my arm,” the
protestor said, before the Prime Minister wrenched his sleeve away.

Downing Street laughed off the stunt, and said there had never been any threat
to Mr Brown. A spokesman said: “As far as we are concerned, nothing really happened.

“There was a light-hearted and not particularly successful demonstration at a
reception that was being hosted at Downing Street.”

Speaking afterwards, Mr Glass, from Barnet, north London said he had smuggled
five pouches of glue into the building in his underwear, before smearing the adhesive
onto his left hand.

“I just glued myself to him and after 20 seconds he tore my hand off – it really
hurt. He had to give it a couple of tugs before it came away,” he said.

“He was just grinning about it. He didn’t seem to take me seriously.”

The protestor said he was given a round of applause by the audience as he urged
the Prime Minister to change his mind on Heathrow expansion.

Mr Glass had been invited to Downing Street to receive an award from the Sheila
McKechnie Foundation for his protesting work with Plane Stupid.

Police said there had not been any security breach, as Mr Glass was invited and
did not cause any damage.

 

 

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