The British legal system exposed

A historic moment of exposure for the British legal system

by David Whyte

On Wednesday this week, 16 people who had been imprisoned for planning and participating in peaceful climate protests appealed their sentences.  The combined sentences they were appealing amounted to 41 years.  The people appealing included the whole truth 5 who were jailed for planning protests at a zoom meeting, the longest sentence for a peaceful protest in British legal history.  They also included protestors who climbed gantries in order to block the M25 protestors and the Sunflowers 2, jailed for throwing soluble paint over Van Gogh’s masterpiece, despite the fact that no permanent damage was done.   

On Wednesday 400 people gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice to support the appeals, and on Thursday over 1000 protestors gathered and blocked the road in a remarkable act of solidarity with those jailed. 

The extremity of sentences handed down by the court and the size of the movement supporting those lodging appeals has created a historic moment of exposure for the British legal system.

The 16 who lodged appeals are known in the climate movement as the ‘Lord Walney 16’, because they believe that their sentences are connected to a concerted political campaign that has been partly led by the eccentric politician, John Woodcock, Baron Walney.  In May 2024, Walney, as Conservative government-appointed adviser on political violence, published an offical report in which he called for members of protest groups, including Just Stop Oil and Palestine Action to be treated as terrorists. He was accused of a major conflict of interest in this role since he had been paid to lobby for companies representing the fossil fuel and arms industry.

Our friends at the campaign organisation ‘Defend Our Juries’ note that the sentencing that is currently being appealed were imposed after Lord Walney’s report was published; the period following his report represents an exceptional “bubble of sentencing inflation” for protest offences. Before July 2024, the organisation argues, sentencing for similar offences was generally non-custodial.

Defend Our Juries have compiled a ‘Timeline of Sentencing Inflation’ that covers the cases of the Lord Walney 16 which we publish in summary below. 

18 July 2024

Whole Truth Five, Southwark Crown Court, conspiracy to cause public nuisance, Roger Hallam (5 yrs), Cressie Gethin, Daniel Shaw, Lou Lancaster and Lucia Whittaker De Abreu (4yrs).

1 August 2024

M25 Gantries, Basildon Crown Court, public nuisance, guilty pleas – George Simonson (2yrs), Theresa Higginson (2yrs), Paul Bell (22 months), Gaie Delap (20 months) and Paul Sousek (20 months).

6 September 2024

Navigator Tunnellers, Basildon Crown Court – conspiracy to cause public nuisance, Larch Maxey (3yrs), Chris Bennett (18 months), Samuel Johnson (18 months) and Joe Howlett (15 months).

27 September 2024

Sunflowers, Southwark Crown Court – Criminal damage, Phoebe Plummer (2yrs) and Anna Holland (20 months).

The result of their appeals are expected in around 6 weeks.

The Centre for Climate Crime and Climate Justice Is committed to working with the climate movement to challenge this extreme response by the courts.  We will be conducting a major analysis into the nature of those custodial sentences in the Spring and will publish our results in May.  Watch this space.

David Whyte is a Director of the Centre for Climate Crime and Justice.