114 arrested before protest near UK power station

British police arrested 114 people Monday on suspicion of planning a disruptive environmental protest at a coal-fired power station. They were detained on suspicion of conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass and criminal damage at the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power plant, Nottinghamshire Police said. The group was arrested in a nighttime raid by 200 police officers at a primary school near the plant, 190 kilometers northwest of London. The force said police believed some of those arrested were linked to a group of protesters who have set up "climate camps" at other power plants, at Heathrow Airport in 2007 and in central London during this month's G-20 summit. Such protests have been peaceful. Police said they believed the protests would have posed a serious threat to the safe operation of the power station. Its owner, German energy company E.On, said the protest "could have been a very dangerous and irresponsible attempt to disrupt an operational power plant."