CLIMATE protesters should target the bosses of fossil fuel companies and the banks behind them rather than disrupt the public to win support, Peter Tatchell has said.
Veteran gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has said climate protestors should target fossil fuel companies, banks and MPs - and not the general public.
The 71-year-old, who has dedicated his life to protest, said that his approach had always been to target culpable people and institutions, win over public opinion
He disagreed with the protestors who have repeatedly disrupted traffic and sporting events, saying it was vital to keep public opinion onside if change was to be achieved.
But he added that the demonstrators had brought the issue of climate change to the forefront, which meant their actions could be judged a success.
What do you think? Are public figures fair game to be targeted by protestors? Vote in our Herald Poll:
Mr Tatchell was speaking on the Edinburgh Fringe at For The Many Live with broadcaster Iain Dale and former Labour Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.
Our politics team have been out an about at the Fringe covering the various debates and speeches from political figures – check out our latest coverage:
Peter Tatchell: Just Stop oil should target oil bosses not public
Stephen Flynn is classic 'career politician' says Wes Streeting
Alex Salmond will be sad if he and Nicola Sturgeon never talk again
Nicola Sturgeon to release 'deeply personal and revealing' memoir
Mr Tatchell was speaking after activists from Greenpeace sparked a row by draping Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s home with an oil-black fabric to protest against the Government’s plans to grant more than 100 new licences for oil and gas extraction in the North Sea.
The protest led to both the Government and Labour cutting ties with the group.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel