Environmental activists from Extinction Rebellion have blockaded two British printing plants, disrupting the distribution of several national newspapers on Saturday.
The group said it targeted printworks at Broxbourne, north of London, and Knowsley in northwest England that are owned by Rupert Murdochs News Corp.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson branded the demonstration “completely unacceptable” on Twitter, adding a free press is “vital”, hitting out at the activists for trying to “limit the publics access to news”.
Dozens of protesters locked themselves to vehicles and bamboo scaffolding to block the road outside the plants.
The facilities print Murdoch-owned papers The Sun and The Times, as well as the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail and the Financial Times.
Police said they had arrested 42 people by Saturday morning at the Broxbourne plant and a further 30 people were arrested in Knowsley.
Extinction Rebellion said all remaining protesters ended their demonstration at 11 am.
The group said it was disrupting the newspapers to expose the failure of these corporations to accurately report on the climate and ecological emergency, and their consistent manipulation of the truth to suit their own personal and political agendas.
But some UK news editors lashed out at the group for its action on social media.
“If you cant get your copy of a newspaper today its because Extinction Rebellion blocked the printing presses last night. It seems a free press isnt important to XR or metpoliceuk – worrying times,” tweeted Sarah Knapton, science editor at The Daily Telegraph.
Meanwhile, the i newspaper’s policy editor, Jane Merrick, tweeted: “Stopping the printing of newspapers that belong to a free press is Not a Good Look.”
Newsprinters, which operates the printing plants, said the protest was an attack on all of the free press.
Extinction Rebellion has blocked roads and bridges in several British cities since Monday as part of two weeks of civil disobedience to press for stronger action against climate change. Hundreds of people have been arrested.
Last year, more than 1,700 arrests were made during Extinction Rebellions 10-day Autumn Uprising, which disrupted traffic and business activity in several parts of the U.K.