Greenpeace occupation of Cairn Greenland rig ends

The Danish navy moved in to remove the protesters from the rig

Greenpeace campaigners who scaled a drilling vessel off Greenland in a bid to stop work have been removed, it has been revealed.

The 53,000-tonne Leiv Eiriksson rig is run by Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy.

Activists were hanging from the underside of the rig in a survival pod for four days.

Greenpeace said the Danish navy had removed the two campaigners. A Cairn spokesperson said there had been no impact on its schedule.

Greenpeace said in a statement that the end of the occupation would not stop it "opposing the madness of drilling for oil in a region where a spill would be almost impossible to clean up".

Cairn Energy confirmed in a statement: "Members of Greenpeace have been removed.

"The authorities took the action to ensure the safety of those involved in and around the drilling operations.

"Cairn respects the rights of individuals and organisations to express their views in a safe and peaceful manner but would be concerned with anything that presents a safety risk for those involved and the operations."

Cairn Energy is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company with principal interests in India and Greenland.