NEWPORT Greenpeace activist, Anthony Perrett is the first of the Arctic 30 to be issued with an exit visa.

This morning, Greenpeace have confirmed Mr Perrett has today been given a visa in his passport from the Federal Migration Service allowing him to leave the country.

Mr Perrett who is the first to be given a visa, said: “This was the final step. I’ll be leaving for home in Wales as soon as possible now, extremely proud of what I did three months ago.

"We took peaceful action to defend a part of the world that is the heartbeat of our climate. The Arctic is a measure of our planet’s health and I refuse to stay silent as the oil companies line up to profit from its destruction."

The non-Russian members of the Arctic 30 are expected to leave Russia over the coming days.

Twenty-eight activists and two journalists were arrested in September and charged with hooliganism as they staged a protest at a Gazprom Russian offshore oil rig. The crew were held in custody for two months before being released.

Mr Perrett, 32, was also the first of the activists to have charges against him dropped by the Russian authorities on Tuesday.

The ex-Caldicot councillor had told BBC Radio Wales he would spend Christmas in St Petersburg and then had five days to leave the country. He said his partner, Zaharah Ally, also of Newport, would join him for Christmas.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "So from Thursday I will have five days in which to exit Russia."