A group of Just Stop Oil protestors planned on making a scene at Manchester Airport by gluing themselves onto the taxiway but they didn’t get far and ended up stuck in police vans instead
A group of Just Stop Oil protestors have been found guilty after they unsuccessfully tried to glue themselves to the tarmac of Manchester Airport.
The protestors, who thought that sticking themselves to the taxiway was a great way to spend their day, intended to make their point by breaking into the airfield at Manchester Airport with glue, sand and cutters. However, it didn’t go their way, and they ended up stuck in police vans instead.
Following a trial at Minshull Crown Cour, Indigo Rumbelow, Leanorah Ward, Margaret Reid and Daniel Knorr were found guilty of conspiracy to intentionally cause a public nuisance. One member of the group, Noah Crane was found not guilty.
Their plans were foiled on August 5, after police officers caught the group strolling along South Park Road in Gatley, as they were making their way to Manchester Airport.
Confusingly, Ward was also found in possession of a handwritten note which detailed the motive of the group; to enter the airfield of Manchester Airport and to then contact the police to alert them of their activity.
The group of protestors planned to enter the airfield and stick themselves to the taxiway using the glue and sand in a bid to disrupt airport activity, and for the cameras. When Ward did her interview, she stated that she regretted that their attempts were unsuccessful due to being caught by the police.
Following their arrest, a search of a rental property they were staying at in Gatley was searched and officers recovered several items from the bin including a provisional driving license of Knorr and a camera harness.
Noah Crane, the fifth defendant, chose not to enter the witness box, although each of his co-defendants gave evidence that he was not involved in the planning of the action and they had told him nothing. His only link to the action was, when requested, to purchase four phones, unaware of what they would be used for.
Indigo Rumbelow and Margaret Reid represented themselves. Ella Ward sacked her barrister during the second week of the three week trial while Noah Crane and Daniel Knorr had legal representation.
Judge MacAdam, during legal hearings at the start of the trial, told the defendants that due to the workload of his position he did not read a great deal about climate science and was therefore neutral.
The following statement was issued on behalf of the defendants after the verdict: “We thank the jury for their service and accept their decision. The acquittal of Noah Crane calls into question the six months he was forced to serve on remand at the age of 18. Physics doesn’t care if we were acquitted or not – all that matters now is how hot our world gets and how quickly. The unfolding horror of climate collapse is the future that awaits us, our children and our children’s children.
Meanwhile, a Just Stop Oil spokesperson said: “Yet again our courts have demonstrated that they are out of step with what is happening in the real world. A world of increased heating, panicking scientists and oblivious politicians. We risk ruin and judges and legal experts discuss the finer points of necessity and reasonableness.
“None of this is reasonable. All those who took part in the prosecution of Just Stop Oil supporters deserve our sympathy, the guilt that they experience due to the collapse of our living world will stay with them for the rest of their lives.”
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