Anti-coal protesters arrested after storming climate change sceptic's land

Nine held by police after blocking entrance to mine on Lord Ridley's Northumberland estate and forcing operations to shut down

Nine protesters have been arrested after storming a coalmine on land belonging to Matt Ridley, a prominent climate change sceptic and Conservative member of the House of Lords, causing operations to shut down.

The group, called Matt Ridley's Conscience, raided Lord Ridley's vast Blagdon family estate in Northumberland, home to England's largest open-cast coal mine, at dawn on Monday.