Thread by @seanpwcurrie

Activists in #Lützerath have made an underground tunnel to delay eviction.

This high-risk tactic is extremely effective and has a proud history in the UK.

As ever, solidarity with those resisting fossil capitalism! 🧵 1/8

Tunnels are an effective way of slowing down evictions, used by British climate activists since the '90s.

The most famous is Swampy, who spent a week resisting eviction for the expansion of a motorway.

He became the dreadlocked symbol of Britain's "crusty" climate movement. 2/8

Fun side point: It was David Cameron's mum who sentenced Swampy in the subsequent trial - something he would later boast about in a 2007 Party Conference speech.

Conservatives are deeply weird people. 3/8

Since then, tunnels have repeatedly been used in 🇬🇧 to disrupt airport expansions, oil terminals and the destruction of ancient woodland for the HS2 high-speed rail.

One tunnel protest a few years ago cost £3.5M to evict.

Swampy was among those evicted. 4/8

So why is it effective?

1️⃣ The Police have to find the tunnel entrance.
2️⃣ The tightness of passageways makes them easy to block, and forces the Police to abandon heavy duty equipment.
3️⃣ It's inherently dangerous, requiring specially trained officers and surveyors. 5/8

In #Lützerath they've made it doubly difficult by building lock-ons (out of a mix of steel and concrete) INTO the tunnel's foundations.

So the Police will have to evict people who are locked into the foundations of the tunnel, without collapsing the tunnel 🤔 6/8

The tunnelers "Pinky" and "Brain" released this video, which is part tactical explanation, part political statement, and part mildly unhinged humour.

This tactic alone won't save Lützerath but WILL delay its eviction by anything from a few days to 2 weeks.

Pinky & Brain need supported by numbers on the ground, making this an international scandal.

Spread the word! #LuetziBleibt