Celebs demand lawyer common assembly over JSO M25 plot sentences
More than 1,000 prominent lawyers, academics and celebrities have demanded a meeting with the attorney general over the ‘injustice’ of handing five eco-activists with record sentences.
The Just Stop Oil protestors, including co-founder Roger Hallam, were jailed for a combined 21 years over a stunt that disrupted London‘s M25 motorway for four days in 2022.
Prosecutors said the protests, which involved a total 45 activists, caused an economic hit of at least £765,000 and cost the Metropolitan Police more than £1.1million.
The mob also caused a staggering 50,000 hours of vehicle delays affecting more than 700,000 vehicles, it was claimed, and left the M25 ‘compromised’ for more than 120 hours.
Hallam, 58, received a five-year prison term for organising the stunt, while Daniel Shaw, 38, Lucia Whittaker de Abreu, 35, Louise Lancaster, 58, and Cressida Gethin, 22, were each sentenced to four years for conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.
From left to right: Lucia Whittaker De Abreu, Cressida Gethin, Louise Lancaster, Daniel Shaw and Roger Hallam. Hallam was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment while the remaining four defendants were each handed four years’ imprisonment
TV naturalist Chris Packham has written an open letter calling for a meeting with Attorney General Richard Hermer KC. Mr Packham described the sentences as a ‘grotesque miscarriage of justice’
Dale Vince, the millionaire Labour donor, wrote the letter alongside Packham which has been backed by Coldplay’s Chris Martin
These sentences, handed down by Judge Christopher Hehir at Southwark Crown Court, surpass those given to JSO members who climbed the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge in October 2022.
Sir Keir Starmer was urged to intervene last week, and the United Nations human rights commissioner labelled the sentences as ‘deeply troubling’ and ‘disproportionate’.
Now Dale Vince, the millionaire Labour donor, and TV naturalist Chris Packham have written an open letter calling for a meeting with Attorney General Richard Hermer KC.
Mr Packham described the sentences as a ‘grotesque miscarriage of justice’.
Notable signatories of the letter, which was shared with The Times, include former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, human rights solicitor Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC and artist Dame Tracey Emin.
It was also backed by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, author Sir Philip Pullman and director Danny Boyle.
The letter argued that with overcrowded prisons, these sentences are ‘insanity’.
Police watch as traffic is held back as an activist from Just Stop Oil occupies a gantry over the M25 near Godstone in Surrey
Environmental Defender Michel Forst (centre) outside Southwark Crown Court with the five Just Stop Oil protesters who have been jailed
Other notable signatories of the letter, which was shared with The Times, include former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, director Danny Boyle, and artist Dame Tracey Emin
It said that the activists were not allowed to explain their actions to a jury, undermining their right to a fair trial.
The activists, it claims, were performing a vital service by raising awareness of the climate crisis.
Last week, Judge Hehir blasted the ‘fanatic’ eco-activists when sentencing.
He said: ‘You have appointed yourselves as the sole arbiters of what should be done about climate change, bound neither by the principles of democracy nor the rule of law.
‘Your fanaticism has made you heedless of the rights of your fellow citizens.’
