U.K. Police Lobbied Power Company to Sue Protesters

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Documents obtained by the Guardian reveal that the chief constable of Kent police, Mike Fuller, lobbied the power generation company E.ON UK to seek injunctions to counter protests against the proposed Kingsnorth power station. In a letter to the head of security at E.ON, Fuller wrote that he was "surprised" that the company had not used injunctions to "restrain" protesters and urged the company to initiate legal action "in advance of protests, where possible, and if not as soon as possible after" they start. "My concern was that E.ON should improve their own site security, which if neglected could cause unnecessary costs for the policing of protests, not that individuals who wished to protest should be prevented from doing so," Fuller told the Guardian. However, in an earlier report the Guardian had revealed that the police had also lobbied "the local council to assist with automatic number plate recognition cameras to track protesters. When the council voiced objections, officials were told that senior officers were 'less than impressed, given the importance of this operation as the new power station build is likely to create a considerable number of jobs'."