JUSTICE campaigners slammed the British government today over trade agreements that have forced Italy to pay fines to an oil company — for trying to protect the environment.

The Italian government has been ordered to pay €190 million (£160m) to British oil and gas company Rockhopper with added interest because of Rome’s decision to ban oil exploration near Italy’s coastline.

Rockhopper brought the case against the Italian government using the Energy Charter Treaty which contains a legal mechanism, the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), allowing corporations to sue countries in tribunals on policy decisions which could impact their future profits.