Greenpeace close BP petrol stations

BP petrol stations were shut down by activists today in a bid to urge the oil company to adopt greener energy policies.

Greenpeace claimed it shut off fuel supplies at around 50 service stations in central London this morning.

A spokesman said activists stopped the flow of fuel by flipping safety switches located on the forecourts and then removing them to prevent the petrol stations reopening.

They also hoisted signs saying: "Closed. Moving beyond petroleum".

The protest is a bid to urge Bob Dudley who is expected to take the helm from outgoing BP chief executive Tony Hayward to move away from "his predecessor's obsession with high risk, environmentally reckless sources of oil".

At one station in Camden, north London, Greenpeace climbers replaced BP's logo with a new version showing the green "sunflower" disappearing into a sea of oil.

Greenpeace executive director John Sauven said: "The moment has come for BP to move beyond oil. Under Tony Hayward the company went backwards, squeezing the last drops of oil from places like the Gulf of Mexico, the tar sands of Canada and even the fragile Arctic wilderness.

"We've shut down all of BP's stations in London to give the new boss a chance to come up with a better plan. They're desperate for us to believe they're going 'beyond petroleum'. Well now's the time to prove it."

A BP spokesman said activists had only managed to close down around a dozen service stations, adding that they would be reopened as soon as it was safe to do so.

He described the stunt as "an irresponsible and childish act which is interfering with safety systems".