Two Just Stop Oil protesters who scaled a bridge on the Dartford Crossing, forcing police to close it to traffic, have been sentenced to more than two and a half years each for causing a public nuisance.
Morgan Trowland, 40, and Marcus Decker, 34, used ropes and other climbing equipment to scale the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links the M25 between Essex and Kent across the River Thames, in October last year. The police closed the bridge to traffic, causing gridlock.
Trowland was sentenced to three years in prison, while Decker received two years and seven months. Spokespeople from the activist group said these were the longest sentences for peaceful climate protest in British history.
Judge Collery KC handed down the sentence, commenting that it was a strict punishment because he wanted to deter copycat actions. Both defendants were unanimously found guilty of causing a public nuisance.
Collery said: “You have to be punished for the chaos you caused and to deter others from copying you.” The judge said Trowland, who has six previous convictions relating to protests, had a “leading role”. Decker had one previous protest-related conviction.
He told the pair “[you] 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,” the judge said, noting that the disruption affected “many tens of thousands, some very significantly”.
Lawyers for the men told the court they did not plan to take part in any similar climate actions in future, but the judge said he saw “no signs” the defendants were “any less committed to the causes you espouse than before”.
The prosecutor Adam King said the bridge was closed from 4am on 17 October last year to 9pm the following day, with jams forming as traffic was forced to use the tunnels under the Thames instead.
Other climate activists criticised the sentence. An Extinction Rebellion spokesperson told the Guardian: “This is absolutely devastating news. These men took incredibly courageous action to raise the alarm on the greatest crisis of our time and they should be celebrated for their bravery, not thrown in prison and brushed under the carpet.
“The majority of the UK public wants what they’re asking for, urgent and far-reaching action on the climate and ecological emergency, and this news today is a slap in the face to everyone in the UK and globally who are being impacted by climate change right now.”
Speaking outside the courtroom, Stephanie Golder, a JSO spokesperson, said: “Just Stop Oil will not be deterred by these draconian sentences. Where they imprison one of us, 10 more will take their place. When they imprison 10 of us, 100 will stand to take their place.”
The activists plan more actions from Monday next week, including “slow marches” to disrupt traffic around London.
Since the Just Stop Oil campaign began on 1 April 2022, more than 2,000 people have been arrested and 138 have spent time in prison. There are currently two Just Stop Oil and five Insulate Britain activists serving time in prison for actions taken with the campaigns.