Greenpeace seeks ban on UK offshore oil drilling

GREENPEACE has launched legal action in an attempt to stop UK offshore drilling in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

The environmental group said yesterday that its lawyers had filed a claim at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. They are seeking a ban on the issuing of new licences for deep-sea drilling until the causes of the Deepwater Horizon explosion have been properly established.

Greenpeace said that, if its legal challenge is successful, its action will affect more than 20 oil production licences and could halt future licensing rounds.

It says the licences relate to areas close to environmentally-sensitive sites which support species such as whales and dolphins and are legally protected.

Greenpeace lawyers will seek to persuade a judge that, in the wake of the BP disaster, the government cannot be certain that drilling will not result in environmental damage.

They want a ruling that licences should not be handed out until a proper assessment, as required by law, has taken place.