Two Just Stop Oilprotesters who scaled a bridge on the Dartford Crossing causing gridlock when police closed the bridge to traffic have been sentenced.
Morgan Trowland, 40, and Marcus Decker, 34, were sentenced at Southend Crown Court to three years in prison, and two years and seven months in prison respectively, for causing a public nuisance.
Both defendants were found guilty by unanimous verdicts of causing a public nuisance following an earlier trial at Basildon Crown Court.
In response to their sentencing Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “These selfish protesters caused families to miss funerals, cost businesses money, disrupted emergency services and brought chaos to the law-abiding public.
“I welcome the court’s verdict. Others considering similar stunts should take note.”
The pair used ropes and other climbing equipment to shuffle up the cables of the bridge in October last year.
They ascended to a point close to 200ft above the road and unfurled a giant Just Stop Oil banner and “rigged up hammocks and stayed there”, prosecutors said during their trial.
The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links the M25 in Essex and Kent, was closed from 4am on October 17 to 9pm the following day.
On Friday Judge Shane Collery KC said: “You have to be punished for the chaos you caused and to deter others from copying you.”
The judge said that Trowland, who has six previous convictions relating to protests, had a “leading role” while Decker had one previous conviction relating to a protest.
He said the pair “plainly believed you knew better than everyone else”, adding: “In short, to hell with everyone else.”
“By your actions you caused this very important road to be closed for 40 hours,” Judge Collery KC said, noting that the disruption affected “many tens of thousands, some very significantly”.
Prosecutor Adam King previously told Basildon Crown Court: “Small businesses lost, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of pounds, people missed loved ones’ funerals, children were left on the side of the road waiting for buses.”
He said the men came down at about 5.30pm on October 18 “with the help of police and a very tall cherry picker crane”, but the bridge was not reopened to traffic until later.
Jacob Bindman, for Trowland, said: “He’s able to say this protest, and his experience of having spent time in prison, largely represents the end of his involvement in this kind of activity.
“He doesn’t intend to undertake any large-scale disruptive protests in the future.”
He said that structural engineer Trowland had “in his words done his bit” and “he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his days going in and out of prison”.
Rebecca Martin, for Decker, said that the protest “wasn’t his idea” and that the “expert in climbing” was not part of the initial planning process.
She said that both private tutor Decker, who is a German citizen with two degrees, and his co-defendant were “trying to act for the greater good in the long term”.
Ms Martin said Decker would also not take part in further disruptive protests.
But the judge said he saw “no signs” the defendants were “any less committed to the causes you espouse than before”.
On Friday Just Stop Oil issued a statement saying that Trowland and Decker were “given draconian custodial sentences”.
“The Just Stop Oil supporters were demanding that the government halt licensing and consents for the development of any new fossil-fuel projects in the UK.”
Speaking outside the courtroom spokesperson Stephanie Golder said:“What Morgan and Marcus did was extraordinary, risky and extremely disruptive.
“Just Stop Oil will not be deterred by these draconian sentences. Where they imprison one of us, ten more will take their place. When they imprison ten of us, one hundred will stand to take their place. We must unite against this genocidal government and be brave.”
“For now, that means slowly marching around the streets of London.”
Just Stop Oil have continued disruptive protests and this week targeted the World Snooker Championships.
It is feared disruptive action could also take place during the London Marathon this weekend.
