PR Week Echo Columns

Protesters managed to break through the lines of the media blockade at last weekend's Camp for Climate Change long enough to engage in predictable scuffles with an over-zealous police contingent that out-numbered the campers. Although themed as a global Climate Change protest, local residents, objecting to the property blight caused by the proposed third runway, appeared to have gained the most benefit. Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, John McDonnell, heaped pressure on the Government saying "we have got our message across like never before" (Guardian, 20 Aug).

Official spokespeople both from business and the Government were noticeably absent, despite BAA and BP's headquarters being targeted by campaigners. Fears of disruptive action were unfounded as camp spokesperson Leila Harris insisted "we believe in unlawful protest when it is peaceful and justified" (Reuters, 19 Aug).

Environmentalist George Monbiot wrote that the organisers' "media strategy was hopeless: sympathetic journalists were excluded, while unsympathetic journalists went undercover and infiltrated the camp" (Guardian, 21 Aug). Despite the Times claiming to have unearthed a plot to invade the runways (19 Aug), most infiltrators were more concerned about the stench of the "eco-toilets" (Sharon Van Geuns, Sunday Mirror, 19 Aug). The Mirror also somewhat predictably managed to spot the legendary 'Swampy' among the 1000+ protesters.