West doctor among nine activists jailed
AN Insulate Britain activist from Bristol is among nine people who have been jailed for breaking a court order designed to prevent the group’s road blockades.
Dr Ben Buse, from Bristol, was jailed for four months at the High Court for breaching the injunction.
The 36-year-old is part of a group of protesters who have become known for causing traffic chaos by gluing themselves to major UK roads such as the M25 in an effort to get the government to insulate all British homes by 2030, which they say will help to deal with the climate crisis.
National Highways was granted an injunction against their protests in September, and nine activists have now been jailed for breaching it.
Ana Heyatawin, 58, and Louis McKechnie, 20, were jailed for three months while Roman Paluch-Machnik, 28, Oliver Rock, 41, emma Smart, 44, Tim Speers, 36, and James Thomas, 47, all received four-month sentences.
Ben Taylor, 37, was given a sixmonth sentence by Dame Victoria Sharp “to deter (him) from committing further breaches”.
Taylor told the court that if the judges did not send him to prison he would “go out and block the highway at the earliest opportunity”.
His comments were described by Dame Sharp as “inflammatory” and a “call to arms”, and he was therefore given a longer sentence.
The judge, sitting with Mr Justice Chamberlain, said 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.
She said: “The defendants, or some of them, seem to want to be martyrs for their cause and the media campaign surrounding this hearing appears designed to suggest this.
“We, however, have to act dispassionately and proportionately.”
The group and its supporters chanted “we are unstoppable, another world is possible” as they were led to the cells through the dock by security officers.
Raj Chada, solicitor at Hodge Jones and Allen law firm who supported the protesters, said: “With these prison terms, the long and honourable tradition of civil disobedience is under attack again.
“Rather than leaving courts to imprison those that raise the alarm, it should be the Government that acts to protect us against the climate crisis.”
Insulate Britain says it intends to continue with the protests, which have sparked anger among motorists and others affected by the blockades, until the Government agrees to insulate homes.
Myriam Stacey QC, representing the Government, told the court on Tuesday that the injunction banning protest activity on the M25 motorway was granted by a High Court judge on September 21.
She said it was accepted by National Highways that the protests fell into the category of “civil disobedience”, and that a National Highways
official had described the action, which began on September 13 and has continued for around nine weeks so far, as “unprecedented and sustained”.
She told the court the official also described the protesters as “peaceful and compliant”, and said they are “loosely affiliated” to extinction Rebellion.