Campaigners Sentenced to Lengthy Jail Terms for Conspiracy to Cause Public Nuisance

Five Just Stop Oil activists have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for their involvement in planning disruptions on the M25 motorway. The activists, including Roger Hallam, Daniel Shaw, Louise Lancaster, Lucia Whittaker De Abreu, and Cressida Gethin, were convicted of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance after coordinating direct action protests in November 2022. The group had planned to climb gantries at strategic points along the London orbital motorway to cause major traffic disruptions in a bid to pressure the government into halting new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.

Hallam received the longest sentence of five years, with the other four activists sentenced to four years each. These sentences are believed to be the longest ever imposed in the UK for non-violent protest, surpassing previous sentences for Just Stop Oil protestors. The judge, Christopher Hehir, condemned the activists, stating that they had crossed the line from concerned campaigners to fanatics, disregarding the rule of law and the rights of their fellow citizens.

Despite their legal defense, which cited climate concerns as their motivation, the judge ruled that the activists’ actions had caused significant harm and disruption. Supporters of the activists criticized the sentences, with environmental groups like Greenpeace and UN representatives warning that such rulings set a dangerous precedent for peaceful protest in the UK.