Comedian and Mock the Week presenter Dara O Briain may have found himself at the centre of an Extinction Rebellion protest last night as climate change activists disrupted a black-tie event for the oil and gas sector in Edinburgh at which he was booked to speak.
According to the Scottish Energy Forum (SEF) invitation, guest speakers at the event included co-founder of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC Martin Gilbert and O Briain.
Campaigners from groups including Stop Cambo and Extinction Rebellion Scotland targeted the SEF dinner, being held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, at about 7.30pm yesterday (Friday).
Protesters were seen sitting cross-legged outside the building holding signs saying “no dinner for killers” and “business as usual is killing”.
They are claiming the SEF is lobbying to expand oil and gas production in the North Sea.
Queues of smartly-dressed people seen outside the conference centre, believed to be guests going to attend the dinner, were blocked from accessing the building.
Police officers were also at the scene standing among the demonstrators.
Speaking about the event, Alex Cochrane, an activist from Extinction Rebellion Scotland, said: “Fossil fuel executives are openly celebrating their record-breaking profits rather than urgently acting to change their catastrophic business model.
“They are failing to act and it is people who are suffering, especially in the global south.”
According to the SEF invitation, guest speakers at the event included co-founder of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC Martin Gilbert and O Briain. O Briain was contacted for comment but has not responded.
The annual dinner has been described by SEF, which was formally known as Scottish Oil Club, as a “highlight of the Energy calendar”.
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