{Seventeen people have been arrested after a protest at Stansted Airport in Essex temporarily halted take-offs and landings on Tuesday.}<\/p>\n
Police were called at 21:30 BST as a group entered a non-commercial runway and locked themselves in an aircraft.<\/p>\n
Those involved were trying to stop a charter flight which they claim was due to deport people to Nigeria and Ghana.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for the airport said the runway was closed as a “precaution” but reopened at 23.17 BST.<\/p>\n
In total, 23 incoming flights were diverted to other airports, including scheduled arrivals from Naples, Cologne, Glasgow, Riga, Belfast and Bilbao.<\/p>\n
The spokesman said the protest took place in a remote part of the airport used by private operators, away from the passenger terminal or runway.<\/p>\n
{{‘Quickly contained’}}<\/p>\n
Essex Police said on Wednesday that officers were at the scene and in the process of removing protesters from the aircraft, which was destined for Nigeria.<\/p>\n
Acting Assistant Chief Constable Sean O’Callaghan said police “quickly contained” the protesters in one area of the airport.<\/p>\n
“We continue to work closely with our partners and the airport authority as we are working to apprehend the protesters quickly and effectively,” he said.<\/p>\n
He added that there was “minimal impact” on the airport. The force said three arrests had been made so far, but no more details were given.<\/p>\n
The activists posted images of the protest on social media, including a photograph of people lying on the ground as they were surrounded by security staff and police.<\/p>\n
In a Facebook post they said the flight was due to “forcibly deport dozens of people to Nigeria and Ghana” but this has not been confirmed.<\/p>\n
One of the protestors, Susan James, said: “I don’t want to stay silent in the face of mass deportations that are deliberately rushed and secretive.”<\/p>\n
Source:BBC <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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