Five environmental activists from the group Just Stop Oil have been sentenced to prison for organizing protests that halted parts of the M25 motorway over four days. The protests in November 2022 involved 45 activists climbing motorway gantries, causing significant traffic disruptions across southern England.
At Southwark Crown Court, Judge Christopher Hehir sentenced Roger Hallam, 58, to five years in prison, while Daniel Shaw, 38, Louise Lancaster, 58, Lucia Whittaker De Abreu, 35, and Cressida Gethin, 22, each received four-year terms. The sentences are the longest imposed since new laws were introduced to prevent protest-related road disruptions.
Judge Hehir stated that the activists “crossed the line from concerned campaigner to fanatic,” emphasizing the sophisticated planning involved in their actions. The court heard that their intention was to block most of the M25, leading to nearly 51,000 hours of driver delays, causing people to miss flights, medical appointments, and exams. Two lorries collided, and a police motorcyclist was injured during efforts to manage the chaos.
The planning details were revealed through a Zoom call chaired by Shaw, which was infiltrated by a journalist from The Sun and passed to the police. The judge criticized the activists for using the protest to parade their political views and positioning themselves as the sole arbiters of climate action.
Hallam, described as the movement’s “ideas man,” was heavily involved in the planning alongside Shaw. Whittaker De Abreu and Gethin were arrested near the M25, dressed for climbing the gantries, while Lancaster provided logistical support by renting a safe house and purchasing climbing equipment.
Lancaster, representing herself in court, argued that the climate crisis necessitated such actions as all other democratic means had failed. Gethin stated that her intention was to limit harm and attributed the protest to the inaction of those in power.
Hallam’s barrister noted that he had since moved away from direct action in favor of conventional political campaigning. However, the judge remarked that Hallam had turned the trial into a protest itself.
The effectiveness of public order disrupting protests remains questionable at best. In it’s worst it turns people away from the activists leaving them blind to the message as not all means can be justified. M25 Blockade and vandalizing works of art and historic sights deal pulpable damage to the green movement.
