Handley arrested at milk depot blockade
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• Former leader of the People's Fuel Lobby David Handley has been arrested in a picket-line clash where farmers blockaded milk tankers.
Police approached Handley near the main gate of Dairy Crest near Stroud.
Around 60 agricultural workers were stopping HGVs from going in or out of the depot last week.
Handley refused to accept a police caution, saying he'd done nothing wrong, and elected to go to court for an alleged breach of the peace.
"People were righting for their livelihoods," he says. "We behaved with perfect dignity but had police trying to push us into the roadway."
The farmers say Dairy Crest is not passing on enough money from a rise in the price of supermarket milk. Handley says he is happy to test the case and will face Stroud magistrates on 9 February.
Police confirmed that it was a non-violent demonstration. Dairy Crest says it is business as usual at the depot.
IN For the legal implications of direct action see Legal Bulletin page 29.