Extinction activists ruled guilty ‘with regret’

THREE Extinction Rebellion protesters who glued themselves to a train were yesterday found guilty “with regret” by jurors in the first crown court trial linked to the environmental protests.

Cathy Eastburn, 52, Mark Ovland, 36, and Luke Watson, 30, were convicted at Inner London Crown Court after halting Docklands Light Railway services at Canary Wharf station.

The trio denied the charges of obstructing an engine or a carriage using a railway on April 17 this year, claiming the stunt was justified because of the threat of climate change. Watson, of Manuden, Essex, and Eastburn, of Lambeth, south London, both climbed on top of the train carriage and glued their hands to the roof, while Ovland, of Keinton Mandeville, Somerset, glued his hands to the side.

After one hour of deliberations, the jury unanimously found the defendants guilty, but the foreman added it was “with regret”.

Extinction Rebellion, an activist group whose protesters are urging government action on climate change, claims the trial was the first to be dealt with by a crown court as opposed to a magistrates’ court. The trio were released on unconditional bail and will be sentenced for the charge at the same court today.

They were arrested during two weeks of demonstrations organised by Extinction Rebellion which brought parts of London to a standstill.

Judge Reid thanked the jury and said it was not the “usual case in crown court”, adding that most defendants do not come “for such noble purposes”.

The judge indicated that a conditional discharge was possible, telling the jury: “I don’t see at the moment that there’s any possibility of any of these defendants going back to prison.”