Five activists from the Insulate Britain protest group have been jailed for blockading the M25 in protest over climate change.
The protesters brought motorway traffic to a standstill, deliberately flouted a High Court injunction which had been imposed to try to stop the demonstrations in October last year.
Imposing short terms on Diana Warner, 62, Ellie Litten, 35, Stephen Pritchard, 62, Theresa Norton, 63, and Ben Taylor, 27, Justice William Davis said: “This is in no sense a value judgement on the merits or demerits of government policy in relation to climate change.”
Stressing the importance of the High Court injunction, he said: “The Rule of Law will fall apart if people decide which orders and which laws they choose to abide by and which they don’t.
“If the Rule of Law didn’t apply, those benefitting the most from it would be those who have the most power.”
A further 11 activists was each handed short prison terms which have been suspended for the next two years.
This is the third raft of Insulate Britain activists brought before the court in relation to their direct action protests last autumn when they called for the government to ensure every home in the UK is properly insulated.
National Highways obtained an injunction from the court to try to curb the demonstrations which wrought chaos on M25 commuters on a series of occasions.
Wednesday’s hearing related to breaking the injunction at protests on stretches of the M25 on October 29 last year.
Warner was jailed for 30 days, Litten was sentenced to 42 days in prison, Pritchard was handed a 24-day sentence, and Norton was sentenced to 28 days in prison.
All four of them had refused to attend court Tuesday afternoon, instead gluing themselves together as they sat in protest on the steps of the High Court.
The judge said they are not being directly punished for the act of defiance but said it “demonstrated their anxiety to continue the sort of protest for which we are dealing with today”.
Taylor is already serving a six-month sentence for another breach of the injunction, and he was on Wednesday ordered to serve a further 32 days in prison.
A supporter decried the decision as “outrageous” before being ejected from the courtroom.
Ben Buse, 36; Biff Whipster, 54; David Nixon, 35; Gabriella Ditton, 28; Indigo Rumbelow, 27; Paul Sheeky, 46; Ruth Jarman, 58; Stephanie Aylett, 27; Stephen Gower, 55; Rev Sue Parfitt, 79; and Christian Rowe, 24, were all handed suspended prison sentences of between 24 and 60 days.
National Highways said they had “endangered the free flow of traffic” or “blocked, endangered, slowed down, prevented and obstructed the free flow of traffic”.
At the High Court on Tuesday, Warner, Litten, Pritchard, and Norton all glued themselves together on the front steps in a fresh act of defiance, and were eventually taken into custody overnight.
Supporters unfurled an “insulate or die” banner inside the Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday morning, before the intervention of security, and the four jailed activists appeared in the dock this afternoon to address the judge.
Mr Pritchard, a parish councillor, told the court he has been arrested 13 times and breached injunctions five times while campaigning for action on climate change.
“I care enough to risk my life,” he said. “Throughout I have made myself vulnerable to arrest, unlimited fines, losing my home, imprisonment, physical assault and public vilification.
“I will continue to block roads in non-violent protest, regardless of the consequences for me personally.
“I am proud of my actions and ashamed of my government. I acted and will continue to act out of love.”
Theresa Norton, a Labour member on Scarborough Borough Council, said: “I can’t be a bystander and watch the continued wanton destruction of our children’s future.”
She called Prime Minister Boris Johnson a “liar” and said she stands by her actions. She added: “I apologise to the people temporarily detained by our actions. I appreciate there was disruption and I’m sorry to inconvenience people .
“Would I do it again? Absolutely.”
A decision on who will pay the costs of the legal action has been deferred to a later date.