Balcombe frackers and celebrities create a sexy Glastonbury in West Sussex

DO celebrities get on your wick? Or does the grandstanding and rampant self-promotion make no difference so long as the message gets out there to great unwashed? And does being a celebrity mean you can no longer function as a private person; everything you do is cloaked in PR and marketing; you are the eternal brand?

News is that Bianca Jagger is against fracking for oil and gas in the British countryside, chiefly at Balcombe in West Sussex.

Joining her on the leafy frontline is Marina Pepper, 45 (below). Who she? The Times says she’s a “former Page 3 girl and ex-girlfriend of the James Bond actor Daniel Craig”.

Yesterday, Pepper was carted off by the police for trying to prevent a lorry delivering drilling equipment for the test site at – get this – Lower Stumble.

Pepper was dressed. Odd, perhaps, because reports are that some anti-frackers stood naked to stop the trucks.

The Times again:

Some villagers have complained that their protests — dubbed the Battle of Balcombe — have now been taken over by hard-core campaigners. The include veterans of the anti-capitalist Occupy London protests outside St Paul’s Cathedral, opponents of the eviction of dozens of travellers from Dale Farm in Essex and eco-warriors who have been involved in protests across the country over the past 20 years.

That sounds a lot like the Battle of Balcombe is doomed to failure. The travellers were evicted from Dale Farm. Occupy London only achieved acres of media coverage for Occupy London, those trying to do it down and others trying to explain it; and eco-warriors are admirable for not getting downhearted at the repeated success of the techno-warriors who continue to barbecue chops and shop in Asda.

But the right to protest is a  joyous thing. It’s a human right. If so-called hard-core protesters give the rest of the anti-frackers a few tips, then surely that’s to the good.

And newspapers love campaigns: it’s what makes them stand apart from the competition. The Mail once wanted to ban plastic bags and support the Blackshirts; the Sun wanted us to sniff out paedos and stop Paul Gascoigne getting a drink; the Times wants better cycle routes;  the Guardian wants an end to phone hacking – well, the bad hacking not the good – and tell Americans that voting for George Bush makes them idiots; the Star wanted us to cheer for the EDL; local papers have campaigned to ditch St George as England’s patron saint, save local museums and ban legal highs; and the fearless Mirror has moved on from yelling “Give the Blackshirts a helping hand” to screaming “save our ice-cream vans”.

But the Times is no fan of a campaign by people who, like them, are prepared to protest for what they believe in. It adds:

Among the activists to have arrived at Balcombe is Natalie Rae Hynde, 30 the daughter of The Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde and Ray Davies of the Kinks, who was arrested in February over protests against a link road between Bexhill and Hastings.

Would we know that if the Times had not reported it? Might it be that the paper is obsessed with the celebrity it seeks to mock? And would a  few more celeb and perhaps a band make Balcombe an alternative to the BBC-petted and neutered Glastonbury Festival?

Superintendent Steve Whitton, of Sussex Police, said the force had yet to calculate the cost of controlling the demonstrators. It has been reported that the force could face a bill of as much as £100,000 a day, with up to 100 officers on duty.

It costs £1,000-a-head to police protesters who refuse to move? Can that be put out to tender?

“This operation has put a strain on police resources. It does mean that we have postponed some pro-active work but it will not effect any calls for assistance.”

So. The Force won’t get a bill. The Force has it covered.

Still, the Times says: “Celebrities ‘hijacking’ fracking demonstration.” Or as other says might put it: “A couple of celebs you might not recognise make newspapers notice fracking demo.”

Indeed, get a lod of the headlines:

Daily Mail: “Former Page 3 girl Marina Pepper is carried away by four police officers at anti-fracking protest as six people are arrested”

Daily Mail: “Pictured: The Page Three model turned fracking protester, 45″

Telegraph: “Former Page Three Girl Marina Pepper was among those arrested at the protest”

The Argus: “Bianca Jagger backs fracking protestors”

East Grinstead Courier: “Mick Jagger’s former wife and campaigner Bianca Jagger backs fracking protest”

Photo 1: A general view of Cuadrilla drilling equipment in Lower Stumble Woods, Balcombe, West Sussex, as the company begin drilling a water monitoring hole ahead of exploratory drilling principally for oil which is opposed by local residents.