EXTINCTION REBELLION has staged a rally outside the London HQ of Perenco after the release of a damning report on the oil firm’s role in the deaths of six workers last year.

Activists dropped banners on Thursday evening reading: “Racist reckless killer Perenco HQ” and held placards satirising the company’s logo as the Grim Reaper.

Six workers were killed in March last year by an explosion on a Perenco oil platform off the coast of Gabon in central Africa.

Investigators at international campaign group the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) said they had learned that, in the weeks leading up to the tragedy, workers were ordered to ignore multiple dangerous pressure surges and to proceed with maintenance operations.

The group said it appeared that, in the aftermath of the accident, human remains and evidence had been improperly disposed of, while Perenco management had allegedly intimidated a witness to the disaster and allegedly bribed a prosecutor in the case.

Three victims were seemingly buried in unmarked graves. Sources told the EIA that only after public outcry were they taken back to the morgue for proper identification.

Another source said that the family of the Frenchman killed received around $10 million (£7.4m) in compensation, while the families of the five African workers received nothing.

Senior EIA campaigner Luke Allen said: “The Perenco Group’s drive to produce oil at all costs seemingly played a central role in this tragedy.

“No company is above the law and the group’s decision-makers should be called to account for their actions in Gabon and elsewhere.”

A Perenco spokesperson said: “We note the recent report published by EIA. This contained a large number of false and defamatory allegations and as such we are currently evaluating the various options available to us.

“Consequently, it is not appropriate to comment further on their report.”

Extinction Rebellion spokeswoman Lucy Porter said: “It is disgusting to learn that a London company has so far been operating with impunity despite accusations of crimes in every country it operates in, including funding paramilitary groups in Colombia, massive tax evasion in DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo], displacing indigenous communities in Guatemala as well as widespread dangerous pollution of air, water and land in many countries.

“The tragic death of the six workers in Gabon is the latest and most horrific case from this company, [which] must be finally held accountable and made to pay for all its crimes.”