I'll fight on, says Greenpeace rooftop protester

Mr Watson, 31, was back home in Queensberry Road, Burnley today, after appearing in court for his part in a rooftop protest.

He was part of a team which hit the national headlines after climbing on to the roof of the French Embassy in London and unfurling a huge banner reading "Non" down the front of the building.

The protest against French nuclear testing in the South Pacific was the latest in a long line of protests that have led to Mr Watson's arrest on several occasions.

At a hearing at Horseferry Road Court, London, on Friday the members of the four-strong embassy protest team were conditionally discharged for a year and ordered to pay £25 costs each.

Alongside Mr Watson was 25-year-old student Jenny Hunt, whose address was also given in court as Queensberry Road but who lives and studies in Lancaster. Mr Watson, a carpenter with a woodworking co-operative in Altham, became involved with Greenpeace in the 1980s as part of a local fund-raising group.

He started taking part in protests in 1985 and his climbing skills have been put to use in this country and across Europe as part of Greenpeace's efforts to gain publicity for its actions.

"I've been involved with a seal sanctuary in the Orkneys, the protests against Sellafield, quite a number of activities really," he said.

"I've climbed Mont Blanc and up an oil-fired power station in Holland in a protest against the emissions of CO2. Most of the things I've done for Greenpeace have involved my climbing skills.

"The protest at the French embassy was over the nuclear testing.

"I feel very strongly that Governments and society pay little attention to the environment, especially if profits are involved.

"The protests are non-violent and I think generally Greenpeace is respected by the police.

"There's not a lot of feeling of animosity during the protests."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.