Freed activists call for anti-fracking action

Environmentalists plan mass action at Cuadrilla site after Court of Appeal overturns prison sentences

FRACKING activists were freed by judges yesterday as environmentalists claimed they could launch “mass direct action” without fear of imprisonment.

The Court of Appeal ruling is expected to encourage hundreds of people to join a mass protest against fracking at the Cuadrilla site in Lancashire on Saturday.

Simon Blevins, 26, a soil scientist from Sheffield, and Richard Roberts, 36, a teacher from London, had been jailed for 16 months, while Rich Loizou, 31, a piano restorer from Devon, was sentenced to 15 months in September.

But their sentences were dismissed as “manifestly excessive” by three senior judges sitting in London.

The trio were arrested after climbing on to lorries outside Cuadrilla’s fracking site in Little Plumpton in a protest, which lasted almost 100 hours in July.

The three, who were the first environmental protesters to be imprisoned since 1932, were convicted of public nuisance following a trial at Preston Crown Court.

But the Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett, quashing their jail terms, said: “We have concluded that an immediate custodial sentence in the case of these appellants was manifestly excessive.

“In our judgment the appropriate sentence which should have been imposed on Sept 26 was a community order with a significant requirement of unpaid work. But these appellants have been in prison for six weeks. As a result, and only for that reason, we have concluded that the appropriate sentence now is a conditional discharge for two years.”

Supporters in the packed courtroom erupted into applause as the decision was announced. And Michelle Easton, the partner of Mr Roberts, read a statement on behalf of the three calling for renewed mass protest.

It said: “Today’s decision affirms that when people peacefully break the law out of a moral obligation to prevent things such as the fossil fuel industry they should not be sent to prison.

“Fracking is beginning right now, so there has never been a more crucial moment to take action. We encourage everyone to join us this Saturday for a mass demonstration at the UK’S first fracking site and to look up the activist network Reclaim the Power and find opportunity to take direct action or to volunteer in vital support roles.”

Cuadrilla was last week given the goahead to start work at the site following a failed High Court bid to block fracking due to safety concerns.

The appeal against the convictions was supported by Liberty, the human rights organisation and Friends of the Earth, the environmental campaign group. Katie de Kauwe, for Friends of the Earth, said: “We believe the fracking protesters’ passion for the environment was unlawfully used against them.”

A fourth activist, Julian Brock, 47, was sentenced to 12 months in custody, suspended for 18 months, after he admitted public nuisance. He did not challenge his sentence.