Councillor is cleared of all protest charges
Last HS2 case is dropped against lock-on protester Steve Masters
A WEST Berkshire councillor who had been charged for lock-on protests at an HS2 site in Buckinghamshire has had his case dismissed.
Steve Masters (Green, Speen) was arrested last summer for blocking the entrance to the site where construction began on a tunnel through the Chiltern Area of Natural Beauty last September.
He was charged under Section 241 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, which makes it an offence to ‘beset’ a place of work.
Almost a year later, Mr Masters has been cleared without the case having come to court.
This means Mr Masters has been cleared of all charges, after his cases of aggravated trespass at Jones’ Hill Wood, Buckinghamshire, and a lockon charge on the A413 Wendover bypass were dropped in May and two weeks ago.
Mr Masters said: “The three cases I’ve had against me have all been dismissed prior to or in court on the day because of prosecution’s lack of evidence.
“We had expected witnesses that said there was a risk to the aquifers and inadequate supervision by the Environmental Agency and I think one of the reasons the case was dismissed was that they didn’t
want those concerns registered on the public record.
“Time and time again the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) take HS2’s word at face value rather than investigate.
“They go in heavy handed and impose strict bail conditions, but when it comes to the burden of proof they’re found wanting.
“It’s an ongoing tactic by the CPS to arrest people and bail them with quite draconian bail conditions.”
Mr Masters said he feared the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, currently going through Parliament, would make it even harder for people to stage legitimate protests.
The bill gives the police new powers to restrict protests and increases sanctions on those who breach conditions.
The Government argues it will allow the police to shut down protests causing serious disruption, while its opponents say it would give police draconian powers to use their discretion to end protests.
Mr Masters said: “The arrests and the drawn-out charges are a tactic designed to intimidate people against protest.
“The police bill going through Parliament right now will be even more intimidating towards protesters. We’re going to see an increasingly hard line in terms of arrests by this increasingly authoritarian Government.”