Gas power station activists being sued by owners of plant for £5m A statement made by CCGT Construction, the EDF subsidiary building the plant, puts the cost of the occupation at more than £5m, including staff and labour costs, delays to the completion of the station, specialist security and lost carbon emission credits, the paper said. A statement from EDF said it supported the right to "lawful protest" but it was important anyone considering direct action should be aware "they may face consequences through civil action for the damage, cost and disruption they cause." Environmental groups supportive of the campaigners' aims have condemned the action, which they claim is a punitive attempt to deter others. John Sauven, the executive director of Greenpeace, likened the action to the McLibel case, a legal action mounted by McDonald's in the 1990s against two activists which dragged on for more than a decade. "It's difficult to imagine how we at Greenpeace could have run our campaigns against illegal rainforest timber imports or pirate fishing if every time we took direct action we were landed with a multimillion-pound bill," he said. EDF's civil claim is an attempt by a state-owned French company to undermine the British tradition of organised dissent. The warnings were echoed by members of other direct action groups. Anna Walker of UK Uncut said the threat of could "crush" the organisation's right to protest, and Joss Garman, co-founder of the anti-airport expansion group Plane Stupid said the action could leave people with "one less tool to defend themselves." The Government has backed the development of up to 20 gas-fired power stations as part of its strategy for future energy supplies.