Trudi Warner reveals the dark secret of English courts: juries do have the right to follow their consciences

Trudi Warner, second left, and supporters hold up signs outside the Old Bailey in central London, April 2023. Photograph: Emily Pennink/PA

George Orwell noticed the tendency of repressive law to degenerate into farce, when truth becomes a lie and common sense is heresy. This is worth remembering now that the solicitor general, Michael Tomlinson KC, has concluded that it is right to take action against a climate campaigner, Trudi Warner, for holding up a sign outside a criminal court, simply proclaiming one of the fundamental principles of the common law: the right of a jury to decide a case according to its conscience.

Presumably he will be taking the same action against those responsible for maintaining the fabric of the Old Bailey, where a historic plaque is proudly displayed celebrating the “courage and endurance” of the jury that first established this right by acquitting William Penn in Bushel’s case in 1670.