Calls for answers over Poole harbour oil spill as cleanup continues

Extinction Rebellion leads protest and council leader expresses anger over damage done to protected site

Environmental activists, biodiversity experts, politicians and nature lovers are demanding answers over an oil leak in Poole harbour, a site internationally recognised for its ecological importance.

Nearly 200 barrels of reservoir fluid – a brine mixture that is about 15% oil – leaked into the waters of Owers Bay on Sunday afternoon from a pipeline operated by the energy firm Perenco.