Just Stop Oil protesters plan to bring UK courts to standstill in fresh campaign

23 September 2023 , 19:41

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Just Stop Oil plan to target courts this autumn (Image: PA)

Just Stop Oil members are plotting to bring courts to a standstill by refusing to enter pleas, staging sit-downs in the dock and launching foul-mouthed rants at judges.

Demos by the eco group have already caused widespread disruption on the roads, but we can reveal the courtroom chaos is part of its autumn campaign. Activists are being urged to “self represent in court”, to “not enter a plea” and even accuse judges of being “complicit in murder” – but anyone carrying out the suggestions risks being jailed for contempt of court. Tory MP Jonathan Gullis tonight said: “These eco-extremists should be charged with wasting court time if they try any of these pathetic antics.”

But Just Stop Oil insists extreme action is needed to safeguard the planet. Its instructions are contained in a new document called the Truth Telling in Court Plan for Autumn 2023, which has been shared, via encrypted mobile phone app Signal, with activists, who are known to each other as “bees”. Any who wind up in court are urged to engage in “truth-telling” to “create additional pressure and complexities for the judiciary to wrestle with”.

Protesters hit The Mall in London last month (PA)

The document also suggests ways to respond when asked to enter a plea, telling activists: “Say something along the lines of… It’s all f****d, it’s f****d for you as much as it’s f****d for me.” Another suggestion is to tell the judge: “We are heading for collapse, continuing to just ‘do your job’ in these circumstances is being complicit in murder.” The document says the actions are for those who are “feeling bold as it could lead to a short prison sentence for Contempt of Court”.

Roger Hallam, one of Just Stop Oil’s masterminds, has said it is aiming for more than 3,000 arrests in a month this autumn. But the group insists its plan is not “intentionally disrespectful”. A Just Stop Oil spokesman said “Courts are jailing people for talking about climate change, they are prosecuting people for holding up signs stating the law.

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“Our courts, like our political system, are failing. Judges, courts, the judiciary… all are protecting those who in full knowledge of the consequences are committing the greatest horror in our history.” Since Just Stop Oil launched in 2022, more than 2,000 activists have been arrested and 138 jailed.

Patrick Hill