Journalism for Social Change Project: Environmental Protest
How grassroots environmental activists are persevering against the criminalisation of protest
In our final installment in our series of student articles written as part of GO Justice’s Journalism for Social Change Project, we hear from Olivia Murray who presents the case for environmental activism.
By Olivia Murray
“We have been protesting peacefully for decades, and the planet is still burning”, says Glasgow University student Alexandra Agar.
The current political landscape is stacked against environmentalism. In recent years, UK governments have taken a ridged stance of intolerance towards disruptive environmental protest. Prominent lawyers including barrister John Cooper have spoken out about how the law is stacked against protesters, with Cooper stating, “It is not so much a right to protest, rather a fight to protest”. But climate organisations such as Just Stop Oil, Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain have responded to increased criminalisation by continuing to do what they do best.
On the 18th of July 2024, in Southwark Crown Court, the history of British protest was forever altered when trial judge Christopher Heir handed down the longest ever sentence for a non-violent protest. The five defendants, all committed Just Stop Oil activists, were convicted of conspiracy to intentionally cause a public nuisance after they successfully disrupted traffic on the M25 for four days to protest the government’s renewal of oil and gas contracts. Their protest caused large-scale disruption and significant economic consequences - and their sentences were severe.
Defendant Rodger Hallam, who the judge described as being “at the very top of the tree,” was sentenced to five years imprisonment while his fellow activists were each sentenced to four. But while the judiciary has held steadfast in its sentencing remarks, the British and international public have responded with concern, describing the sentences as excessive and sparking a flurry of remarks from expert lawyers and human rights groups who suggest the government’s crackdown on environmental groups might amount to human rights violations.
This case represents just the tip of the iceberg. Take, for example, the heroine of environmental defenders Phoebe Plummer, who was sentenced in October 2022 to over two years in prison after her and a fellow activist threw tins of Heinz tomato soup on Van Gogh’s painting Sunflowers at the National Gallery. The painting wasn’t damaged - but Plummer was convicted of criminal damage relating to its picture frame. At the scene of the ‘crime', Plummer repeated the question, "what is worth more, art of life?”, drawing attention to the irony of the situation
Jail sentences are the most extreme deprivations of liberty, but they appear to be standard procedure in British courts. In fact, peaceful protesters are receiving more custodial sentences than ever before. Activist Gaie Delap, a retired teacher, celebrated her 78th birthday in HMP Peterborough after receiving a 20-month sentence for her involvement in the Just Stop Oil M25 protest. Delap didn’t pose a threat to the community but was denied release when prison services failed to find an electronic tag small enough for the frail pensioner. This ordeal resulted in a compelling letter to the Minister of Justice from a variety of human rights organisations demanding her imminent release.
It’s not just environmental demonstrations facing undue restriction: alternative political views have also received the same treatment, with the King’s Coronation in 2023 providing another striking example of police intolerance. That day, 52 people were arrested for peacefully protesting, most of them on suspicion of intentionally causing public nuisance, a vague and easily exploitable offence. This alarming reaction came in response to protesters holding banners stating, 'Not My King’ and carrying equipment for ‘locking-on’.
But it’s not just about courts - our politicians have also had a key role in creating laws that crack down on protest. In 2022 and 2023 successively, the draconian Police, Crime and Sentencing Act and Public Order Act were passed into law. Not only does this legislation increase police powers to intervene in disruptive protests, it also makes it very difficult to peacefully protest because of specific new offences for locking-on, obstructing major transport networks, tunnelling, marching slowly and blocking streets. These laws have legitimised harmful rhetoric which demonises activists as ‘criminals’ or ‘eco-terrorists’, making such activism less appealing to the public and obscuring the original motives of these movements.
But the increasingly repressive strategies of the state have not stopped protesters from doing what they do best – causing a ruckus to draw attention to their pleas. Each act of martyrdom appears to have fuelled further demonstrations, equally disruptive and divisive in nature. It seems the government’s attempt to stop acts of civil disobedience have had the opposite effect; rather than acting as a deterrent, the draconian responses of the government have instead resulted in protests against these very acts of repression. And with the climate crisis worsening day by day, feelings of frustration and disenfranchisement at government inaction only serve to further motivate environmental movements.
While media-worthy protests continue to grab headlines and national attention, I wondered what protest looked like on a local level. Has the harsh treatment of high-profile activists trickled down to movements closer to home? I spoke with local activist Alexandra Agar to find out. Since her early teens, Agar has been interested in climate justice, beginning her activist career in high school by staging a successful walk-out during the rise of Greta Thunberg’s ‘Fridays for Future’ movement.
After moving to Glasgow for university, the International Relations student was quick to attend protests during COP26. Agar recalls a large police presence during the demonstrations and the use of kettling - where protesters are contained in a limited area - to control activists during this time.
“It’s extremely upsetting to see environmental activists having their houses raided, their technology seized, and their daily routines monitored and surveyed by police,” Agar told me. But she said it wouldn’t stop her from continuing to take action.
The legal landscape for environmental defenders has undoubtedly been dark. Police, lawmakers and courts have used every trick in the book to create a hostile protest environment. But there might be cause for cautious optimism: in March, Just Stop Oil announced they would stop using direct action after the new Labour government adopted their demand to end new oil and gas contracts as government policy. There is still a long way to go; as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on X: “Climate activists are sometimes depicted as dangerous radicals. But the truly dangerous radicals are the countries that are increasing the production of fossil fuels”.
