A group of activists who targeted a site printing newspapers including The S*n today thanked the people of Liverpool for boycotting the paper after they appeared in court in the city.
Stuart Akroyd, of no fixed address, Rhiann Beaumont, of no fixed address, Thomas Dalton, of Church Avenue, Easton, Bristol, Lydia Dibben, of no fixed address, William Morgan, of Rushdale Road, Meresbrook, Sheffield and Roman Paluch-Machnik, of Cuckoo Dene, Hanwell, London all appeared at Liverpool Magistrates Court this week. The six activists were found guilty of one count of aggravated trespass after a two-day trial before a district judge.
The court was told that on September 4, 2020 at around 10.15pm, protesters described in court as being aligned with the climate activist group Extinction Rebellion arrived at a printing warehouse in Knowsley belonging to Newsprinters Limited, which printed The S*n as well as newspapers including the Times and Daily Mail.
The activists parked a blue van at the mouth of the main site entrance on Kitling Road, and situated themselves underneath and around the vehicle, blocking the arrival and exit of delivery vans.
READ MORE: Extinction Rebellion protesters block exit at Merseyside printing press
Other protesters situated themselves at the site's other gate on Penryn Road, but left the gate for staff members at the printing facility clear. The group remained in place for around nine hours, until 7am the following day, and prevented thousands of newspapers from being distributed.
The S*n is widely boycotted across Merseyside after it published false claims about Liverpool supporters in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster, in which 97 people were unlawfully killed.
When interviewed by the ECHO after the verdict, Morgan said: “I would really like to say thank you to Liverpool, because it’s the one city in the country where you can’t buy a copy of that rag.
“When I got involved in this action, the notion that that thing is printed in Knowsley blew my mind."
Akroyd added: “I would like to add that all my life partly, because of The S*n but also the media in general, Scousers have been portrayed to me as thieves and robbers and (Liverpool as a) violent place to go. The only time I've come here is because of this action, and I have to say it's one of the warmest cities, I travel a lot and it's one of the warmest cities I've ever visited.”
We asked the group if they targeted the Knowsley site because it printed The S*n, the group said “definitely”. Akroyd said: “Although during the trial we were all named as members of Extinction Rebellion, I'm sure I speak for all five here when I say that personally, I joined the campaign as part of Stop The Hate, which is a campaign to end the vilification of refugees and people of marginalised communities."
Dibben said: “I think just further to that, it was mentioned several times at the trial that we were doing this because of climate change and because of the current climate crisis, and although that is relevant, as the reporting on climate change by these papers is horrific, it was also just so much more than that."
Mr Morgan said: “I was arrested wearing my Sheffield Wednesday Hat that I had actually worn on the day of the Hillsborough disaster, as a little bit of a nod to one of the more heinous bits in The S*n's history.”
During the course of the trial, it was argued that incorrect maps and a lack of clear signage showing the protesters were on private land showed they were not culpable. It was also determined that police at the scene failed to conduct the standard ‘five step appeal’, which is policy when dealing with protesters.
It was accepted by the crown that the defendants were never given a warning by police, as protocol suggests they should have been. Despite this, District Judge Paul Healey found all five defendants guilty of aggravated trespass.
In sentencing, District Judge Healey said: “I am entirely satisfied that they were on private land, well beyond the junction on Kitling Road and into the site. I am sure that the defendants were trespassing. I am also sure that there were persons on the land engaged in lawful conduct, namely printing and distribution.”
Akroyd has a previous conviction dating back to 2019, when he was given a 12 month conditional discharge for resisting a constable. Dalton has convictions for criminal damage from 2019, and for failing to comply with the conditions of public assembly.
Dibbon has a conviction from January 2020 for a similar offence committed five days after Dalton, for which she received a conditional discharge for six months. Paluch-Machnik also has previous convictions for breaching an injunction relating to a protest on the M25, and was handed a suspended sentence.
Morgan and Beaumont have no previous convictions, and were handed community orders for 12 months each. Dibben, Akroyd and Paluch-Machnik were ordered to pay £100 each in fines, and Dalton was ordered to pay £300.
All defendants were told to pay £750 each in prosecution costs, and a victim surcharge applies.
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