Weymouth Insulate Britain campaigner released from prison
Louis McKechnie from Weymouth says more than a month in prison hasn't made him think twice about doing it again
An Insulate Britain campaigner from Weymouth has been released from prison on probation after a month and a half.
Louis McKechnie, 21, was one of nine sentenced on November 17th 2021 for breaching an injunction by blocking the M25. He has now been released on probation.
Louis says he's undeterred from taking further action if it could save lives in the long run.
He described waking up that day excited that it was his birthday before the prospect of the court case hit him.
Louis told Greatest Hits Radio Dorset:
"I was really scared, to be honest. My whole life I've done a quite good job of avoiding going to prison, until that day I guess.
"When we got to the prison, the guards were trying to be a little intimidating the first few people, just playful fun, but still it was a little unnerving.
"A few of the people from the wing came over and talked to us to say they'd heard what we'd done and why we were in there and they thought it was a really good thing we were doing, and that we wouldn't have any trouble in prison.
"They were right, all the people in there were lovely."
Louis received a three-month sentence and was released from prison after a month and a half on probation.
Insulate Britain say their aim is to spare hundreds of thousands of families forced to choose between heating or eating each winter.
They are calling on the government to provide support to insulate homes and reduce heating bills nationwide.
The nine protestors who were jailed in November are referred to as 'The Highway Nine' for their action blocking parts of the M25 for several days running.
They were jailed after an injunction was put in place preventing the action.
But Louis says his time in prison hasn't dissuaded him from pursuing further action:
"For 30 years we've been trying every other method. We don't want to use this method. We've tried literally everything else.
"We've tried going through the political system, we've tried marches, we've tried demonstrations.
"This is the only solution we have left and it's the only thing that has proven effective so far and I hate having to do it. I hate having to block people's days, inconvenience drivers.
"But if it has the potential to say thousands of lives a year, we'll keep doing it."