Extinction Rebellion, the eco-fascist protest group, has successfully duped the BBC into believing that miners in the north of England support its campaigns to close down their pits. It did so by dressing up its activists in cardboard miners helmets.

The fake miners were featured on the BBC show Politics Live. Presenter Jo Coburn repeatedly told viewers that an Extinction Rebellion protest outside Bradley coal mine in County Durham contained ‘miners’ and ‘former miners’.

Scenes from the 3 day mass action blockading the Bradley open-cast coal mine Pont Valley in Durham. ‘We are the Dead Canaries’ action sees #ExtinctionRebellion activists and local campaigners join forces to shut down operations at the mine. @helenasmithpix#XR2020 #ActNow pic.twitter.com/os4uAaihJN — Extinction Rebellion UK 🌍 (@XRebellionUK) February 26, 2020

But the BBC now accepts that it has no evidence of current or former miners attending the protests.

“It is our jobs at stake here and instead of allowing us a voice the BBC showed fake miners with fake cardboard helmets and interviewed a student bussed in by XR who got the basic facts wrong. XR is desperate to change its public schoolboy image and its fellow London luvvies at the BBC fell for this trick,” said Martin Raine, who is an actual miner.

Among the factual mistakes was the claim that the coal from the mine was being sent to a power station at Blyth and exported. There is no power station at Blyth and none of the coal is exported. Other errors included the claim that the UK has stockpiled sufficient coal for four years and that the “people of Bradley” were against the mine. Nobody lives in Bradley – it is just a mine.