Climate campaigners jailed for M25 protest
High Court ruling marks first time protesters have been imprisoned for breaching an injunction
‘They broke the social contract under which in a democratic society the public can be expected to tolerate peaceful protest’
INSULATE Britain protesters have been jailed for blocking the M25 in a legal first as the judge said she had to protect the rights of “ordinary members of the public”.
The nine climate activists were given prison sentences of between three and six months for breaching an injunction by blocking the motorway during the morning rush hour on Oct 8.
Dame Victoria Sharp told the High Court there was no alternative to custodial sentences, given that the group’s actions were so serious and they had made it clear they intended to further flout court orders.
It is believed to be the first time that non-violent protesters have been imprisoned for contempt of court for breaching an injunction, with legal experts predicting it will lead to an increase in Government departments and companies applying for court orders to deal with campaigners.
Ana Heyatawin, 58, and Louis Mckechnie, 20, were jailed for three months, while Dr Ben Buse, 36, Roman Paluchmachnik, 28, Oliver Rock, 41, Emma Smart, 44, Tim Speers, 36, and James Thomas, 47, received four-month sentences.
Ben Taylor, 37, was given a longer sentence of six months after he told the court on Tuesday that if they did not jail him he would block more roads, comments described by Dame Victoria as “inflammatory” and a “call to arms”.
Whilst recognising the right to protest, Dame Victoria said: “Ordinary members of the public have rights too, including the right to use the highways.
“The public’s toleration of peaceful protest depends on an understanding that, in a society subject to the rule of law, the balance between the protesters’ right to protest and the right of the public to use the highways is to be determined not by the say-so of the protesters, but according to the law.”
In granting the original injunction the High Court had decided on that balance, according to Dame Victoria who was sitting with Mr Justice Chamberlain. She said the defendants “broke the social contract under which in a democratic society the public can properly be expected to tolerate peaceful protest”.
Heralding the sentencing, Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, said: “We will not stand by while these reckless and selfish criminals disrupt the freedoms and livelihoods of hard-working people.”
Many of the defendants are seasoned protesters who have been arrested for actions including obstructing the highways and blockading the printing presses of newspapers including The Daily Telegraph.
Dame Victoria noted that some of them “seem to want to be martyrs” just moments before Extinction Rebellion put out a statement describing them as the “Highway 9”.
In a statement calling for others to join the cause, the jailed defendants compared themselves to the suffragettes and Martin Luther King Jr.
Many had earlier said that they could not afford to repay the £91,000 that it had cost the public to take them to court. Speers and Taylor said that they were full-time volunteers who were supporting their work by claiming Universal Credit. The judges will publish a decision on costs at a later date.
Insulate Britain, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, believes that about 23 other protesters are still facing legal action for blocking the M25, with yesterday’s jail terms expected to set a precedent.
Adam Wagner, a human rights barrister and a professor of law, said it was a “huge moment” as it is believed to be the first jail sentence for breaching an anti-protest injunction.
Without the injunction banning them from protesting on any road in Britain, the criminal charge for the offence would have been obstructing the highway, which does not carry a prison term.
Mr Wagner said that the ruling is likely to prompt “more and more of these injunctions as they have now been seen to be effective”.