Insulate Britain activists have been found guilty of public nuisance after they sat down down at a busy interchange of the M25 believing their concerns ‘trumped all others’, a court was told.
A dozen protesters walked out into a carriageway in the middle of rush hour traffic, unfurled a banner and sat down in the road at the Junction 3 Swanley interchange, causing an enormous backlog.
The judge suggested that he would not consider custodial sentences for the convicted activists but they are likely to be hit with tens of thousands in legal costs.
A jury at Hove Crown Court was told one distraught woman who was on her way to hospital to visit a dying loved one broke down in tears and pleaded to be let through the blockade.
Cathy Eastburn (right), 55, the wife of a former Transport for London (TfL) boss, Insulate Britain spokesperson, Cameron Ford (left), 32, Alexander Rodger (top), 33, and Venetia Carter (bottom), 58 have been found guilty of causing a public nuisance.
Hove Crown Court was told on Thursday that the protesters imposed their personal beliefs on untold motorists on September 13, 2021 – just a month before the COP26 conference was due to start in Glasgow.
udge Stephen Mooney indicated he would not be handing down custodial sentences to the protesters.
But he added he intended to hit the offenders with the costs of the court case which could run into tens of thousands.
He told the offenders ‘You got part of what you wanted which was to be arrested, being brought to court and facing a trial by your peers.
‘You did so in the full knowledge you had no defence but using the Crown Court as a forum for protest comes at a cost and it will be a substantial cost to all of you.’
Hove Crown Court heard the protesters chose the M25 in order to cause maximum disruption in order to get the most media attention.
The protest on September 13 2021 was planned to coincide with the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.
