Cairn's contested oil well drilling begins

Campaigners have expressed their "bitter disappointment" at an oil company beginning offshore drilling in Arctic waters.

Edinburgh oil and gas explorer Cairn Energy announced yesterday that it had begun drilling in two wells offshore west Greenland, following a delay when two Greenpeace protesters occupied the company's 53,000-tonne drilling vessel, the Leiv Eiriksson, operated on behalf of the firm.

WWF Scotland's Richard Dixon said: "It's bitterly disappointing that exploration has begun in this sensitive environment."