Climate activists in Britain acquitted of charges over protest on rooftops of Sunak's estate

LONDON– Four Greenpeace activists who were arrested for climbing to the estate of former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and covering it with black cloth to protest against his plans to expand oil and gas drilling in the North Sea have been acquitted of charges.

Judge Adrian Lower of York Magistrates Court dismissed the charges on Friday after finding the evidence too “weak” to convict the defendant of criminal damage for allegedly damaging tiles on Sunak's slate roof in North Yorkshire.

“Justice and common sense prevailed in court today, but that has not been the case for many activists recently,” one of the defendants, Michael Grant, said outside the court. “We have become a country that regularly sends peaceful protesters to prison, with some facing years in prison, for trying to preserve a habitable planet for us all. This must stop.”

Although other environmental activists, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, have also had success in British courts, many others have been convicted, some even receiving long prison sentences.

Five activists who planned a protest to block traffic on a major motorway around London in November 2022, causing traffic congestion for several days, were sentenced to up to five years in prison in July.

The trial of Grant (64), Amy Rugg-Easey (33), Alexandra Wilson (32) and Mathieu Soete (38) was adjourned in July after defence lawyer Owen Greenhall argued that the prosecution had failed to prove that 15 slates were damaged by protesters during a five-hour protest in August 2023.

The four covered the house with long black sheets, while two other protesters stood on the lawn below holding a banner that read: “Rishi Sunak – oil profits or our future?”

Sunak and his family were on holiday in California at the time.

Earlier in the week, Sunak – a Conservative who was ousted by Labour leader Keir Starmer in July this year – announced that Britain would award hundreds of new oil and gas licences in the North Sea, a move widely criticised for walking back the government's pledge to eliminate net carbon emissions by 2050.

UN scientists and environmental groups have urged world leaders to accelerate the phase-out of fossil fuels blamed for rising temperatures, droughts and floods linked to man-made climate change. Burning oil and gas to power vehicles, factories and electricity plants releases huge amounts of carbon dioxide, the main driver of global warming.

The damage to Sunak's roof was estimated at around £3,000 ($4,000).

A roofer who had a contract with Sunak testified at the trial that the 15 broken roof tiles he had examined from an area where the protesters had been suggested they had been damaged recently.

However, Greenhall said the statement was not credible because of the roofer's business relationship with Sunak and because damage to the tiles had also been found in other parts of the roof that had been untouched by the protesters.

“It's clear that this is a roof that already has damage in areas where the protesters weren't,” Greenhall said. “This is by no means a pristine roof.”

The judge said he would issue a full ruling on November 11.