Leila Deen (born 1979) is a British environmental activist, campaigning on the issues of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, poverty and

water politics Water politics, sometimes called hydropolitics, is politics affected by the availability of water and water resources, a necessity for all life forms and human development. Arun P. Elhance's definition of hydropolitics is "the systematic study o ...

. She is program director at

SumOfUs SumOfUs is a global non-profit advocacy organization and online community that campaigns to hold corporations accountable on issues such as climate change, workers' rights, discrimination, human rights, animal rights, corruption, and corporate pow ...

in Washington, DC. Previously, she led

Greenpeace UK Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to ...

's campaign against

fracking Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "frack ...

and was projects director with

Greenpeace USA Greenpeace USA is the United States affiliate of Greenpeace, Greenpeace International, an environmental nonprofit organization that spawned a social movement inspired by direct actions on the high seas to stop whaling and nuclear testing. Headqua ...

until 2019. She was previously an activist with the

World Development Movement Global Justice Now, formerly known as the World Development Movement (WDM), is a membership organisation based in the United Kingdom which campaigns on issues of global justice and development in the Global South. The organisation produces re ...

and

Plane Stupid Plane Stupid is a UK-focused group of environmental protesters who state their aim as wanting to see an end to airport expansion for what it sees as "unnecessary and unsustainable" flights. It is a loose association of autonomous regional gro ...

. She is most widely known for pouring green

custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency fro ...

on the then Business Secretary

Lord Mandelson Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson (born 21 October 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who served as First Secretary of State from 2009 to 2010. He was President of the Board of Trade in 1998 and from 2008 to 2010. He is the ...

in March 2009 in protest against the extension of

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

, for which she was arrested and cautioned.

Activism

Deen has been an activist since she was a teenager. Deen was a prominent member of anti-aviation group

and a campaigner for the

, focusing on water, finance, and climate change. Deen made headlines in 2005 as part of a protest at the G8 meeting in Edinburgh when she scaled a crane along with two other protesters. She was quoted as saying "The crumbs of

debt relief Debt relief or debt cancellation is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations. From antiquity through the 19th century, it refers to domestic debts, in particu ...

and aid increases... remain tied to debilitating conditions, which stands in direct contradiction to

Make Poverty History Make Poverty History are organizations in a number of countries, which focus on issues relating to 8th Millennium Development Goal such as aid, trade and justice. They generally form a coalition of aid and development agencies which work together ...

". In contrast to her later

direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...

, at the 2008 Kingsnorth Climate Camp Deen was reported to be "keen to stress that WDM does not support illegal protest methods". She has called Heathrow's Terminal 5 "a glorified shopping mall" and she called pro-flight counter-protesters "very misguided". In 2007 she joined

Brian Haw Brian William Haw (7 January 1949 – 18 June 2011) was an English protester and peace campaigner who lived for almost ten years in a peace camp in London's Parliament Square from 2001, in a protest against UK and US foreign policy. He bega ...

peace camp Peace camps are a form of physical protest camp that is focused on anti-war and anti-nuclear activity. They are set up outside military bases by members of the peace movement who oppose either the existence of the military bases themselves, the a ...

Parliament Square Parliament Square is a square at the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster in central London. Laid out in the 19th century, it features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and it contai ...

against SOCPA and the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

. As a member of Plane Stupid, she dressed as a

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

, glued herself to the doors of the

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...

, and blew an airhorn to interrupt a speech by

Geoff Hoon Geoffrey William Hoon (born 6 December 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire from 1992 to 2010. He is a former Defence Secretary, Transport Secretary, Leader of ...

. She was a finalist in the Sheila McKechnie Awards in 2006 for campaigning for

Economic Justice Justice in economics is a subcategory of welfare economics. It is a "set of moral and ethical principles for building economic institutions". Economic justice aims to create opportunities for every person to have a dignified, productive and creativ ...

. With

from 2010 to 2013 she was an energy campaigner, leading their opposition to

, running their "How clean is your cloud" campaign against the use of coal energy by internet companies, and campaigning against Arctic and deep-water oil drilling by Shell, Gazprom and other energy companies, including on board Greenpeace's MV ''Esperanza'' ship. In October 2013, she became Deputy Campaigns Director with

. From February 2019, she is program director at

Lord Mandelson Incident

On 6 March 2009 Deen approached

Business Secretary The secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The incumbent is a memb ...

Lord Mandelson outside a

Low Carbon A low-carbon economy (LCE) or decarbonised economy is an economy based on energy sources that produce low levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. GHG emissions due to human activity are the dominant cause of observed climate change since the mi ...

summit on the government's carbon strategy at the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and threw a cup of green

in his face, in protest over his support for a

third runway The expansion of Heathrow Airport is a series of proposals to add to the runways at Heathrow Airport, London's busiest airport beyond its two long runways which are intensively used to serve four terminals and a large cargo operation. The plans ...

Heathrow airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

. Deen lived along a Heathrow

flight path In the United States, airways or air routes are defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in two ways: "VOR Federal airways and Low/Medium Frequency (L/MF) (Colored) Federal airways" These are designated routes which aeroplanes ...

in London, and had previously argued that airport expansion was incompatible with stopping climate change. She was quoted as saying "the only thing green about Peter Mandelson is the slime coursing through his veins." Plane Stupid claimed that the action was in protest at the frequent meetings between BAA's

Roland Rudd Roland Dacre Rudd (born April 1961) is the founder and chairman of Finsbury (public relations), Finsbury (formerly RLM Finsbury), a public relations firm. Rudd was educated at Oxford University, becoming List of Presidents of the Oxford Union, ...

and Mandelson and other ministers ahead of Labour's approval of a third runway. Lord Mandelson responded that "Whilst I'm prepared to take my fair share of the green revolution on to my shoulders, I'm less keen on having it on my face", and

John Prescott John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott (born 31 May 1938) is a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and as First Secretary of State from 2001 to 2007. A member of the Labour Party, he w ...

said that "What is totally unacceptable is the way the woman walked away claiming it was her right in democracy. She should have been arrested. It is not acceptable that she should be allowed to walk away." Lord Mandelson noted that "I was slightly surprised that she could just saunter off without being apprehended". Deen was arrested on 8 March over the incident, and was cautioned on 9 April for causing "

harassment, alarm or distress Harassment, alarm or distress is an element of a statutory offence in England and Wales, arising from an expression used in sections 4A and 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, which created the offence. The Act was amended in 1994. The offence The o ...

Journalism

Deen wanted to be a journalist when she was in her teens. Deen has written for ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'' about the 2007 G8 summit, for '' Red Pepper'' about the 2003 anti-war protests at

RAF Fairford Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an ...

and for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. In the ''Guardian'' ahead of the G-20 protests, Deen argued that the green movement is strong as it relies on networks, built through baking cakes and making

bunting Bunting may refer to: Animals Birds * Bunting (bird) or Emberizidae, a family of Eurasian and African passerine birds * New World buntings or ''Passerina'', a genus of American passerine birds in the family Cardinalidae * Blue bunting, a species ...

rather than on violence and confronting police lines.

Personal life

Deen went to school in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. She is half-Egyptian, and is also known as Leila Aly-el-Deen. Her mother Sheila is a primary school teacher and Greenpeace member. Leila studied

development studies Development studies is an interdisciplinary branch of social science. Development studies is offered as a specialized master's degree in a number of reputed universities around the world. It has grown in popularity as a subject of study since the e ...

and politics at

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

, where she voted in favour of banning '' The Sun'' newspaper from shops in the Students' Union in protest at its coverage of immigration and asylum issues. She subsequently received a master's degree from

Sussex University , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

. For her mother's 60th birthday, they travelled to Morocco by train with her sister Emma as Leila would not allow them to fly.

References

External links