Just Stop Oil activists found guilty of public nuisance
They appeared at Basildon Crown Court today (Tuesday 4 April)
Last updated 4th Apr 2023
Two Just Stop Oil protesters have been found guilty and Basildon Crown Court of causing a public nuisance.
Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker scaled a bridge on the Dartford Crossing and caused gridlock when police closed the bridge to traffic.
Prosecutor Adam King told the court, earlier in the trial, how 40-year-old Trowland, and Marcus Decker who's 34, used ropes and other climbing equipment to shuffle up the cables of the bridge.
He said they ascended to a point close to 200ft above the road and unfurled a “giant Just Stop Oil banner” and “rigged up hammocks and stayed there”.
The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links the M25 in Essex and Kent, was closed from 4am on October 17 last year to 9pm the following day, the prosecutor said.
“This closure caused gridlock for miles around throughout that period, which we say was the point,” said Mr King.
“It was because of the disruption that the incident made national news. Small businesses lost, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of pounds, people missed loved ones’ funerals, children were left on the side of the road waiting for buses.”
He said the men came down at about 5.30pm on October 18 “with the help of police and a very tall cherry picker crane”, but the bridge was not reopened to traffic until later.
Mr King had told jurors: “We’re not here to litigate the Government’s climate change policy.”
Trowland had said in evidence: “We climbed it (the bridge) to deliver a warning message, to put up a banner saying Just Stop Oil and to speak that message through interviews with journalists.”
He said the activist group’s goal is to get the Government to stop licensing oil and gas production.
“That is putting fuel on the fire of climate change.”
During the trial, the court heard from dozens of victims who were impacted by the actions of Trowland and Decker.
Those impacted included:
- A heavily pregnant woman who needed urgent medical help
- A child with additional needs who could not access his medication
- One business lost a total of £24,000
- A person who missed the funeral of their best friend of 35 years
- A care provider lost £363 in earnings and could not provide essential care for patients
- A business which lost between £160,000 and £170,00 in earnings
- A clinical lead nurse could not make crucial child appointments
- A woman who could not access an important medical appointment and was in pain
Trowland, of Islington, north London, and Decker, 34, of no fixed address, denied causing a public nuisance.
They were found guilty by a jury by unanimous verdicts following more than two hours of deliberations.
Judge Shane Collery KC remanded them in custody to be sentenced on April 13.
He said: “This court is considering custodial sentences. We’re dealing with significant nuisance that’s been caused.”
Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow, who led Essex Police's response to the incident, said: “The actions of Trowland and Decker were incredibly dangerous; for themselves, for the officers who were tasked with dealing with them and for the many, many people whose lives were disrupted as a result.
“We know they both saw – and continue to see – their actions as protest. They were not. Their actions were juvenile and dangerous. That behaviour should never be repeated.
“In order to bring them down safely, I had to ask a small group of officers to take on a really dangerous task; to work at significant height and in difficult weather conditions to bring down two people who had voluntarily put themselves at risk.
“These officers deserve immense credit for their actions on 18 October last year in bringing that situation to safe conclusion.”
Ch Supt Anslow added: “Since then, there have been a team of investigators working incredibly hard behind the scenes to build strong cases against Trowland and Decker and supply the Crown Prosecution Service with the evidence which has led to the conviction of both men. Their work has been tireless.
“The right to legitimate protest is not something we would ever seek to stop. We recognise that right and will always seek to safely facilitate it. But there can be no doubt that the actions of Trowland and Decker in October last year went far beyond that. It was criminal nuisance and greatly impacted many people.
“It was only thanks to victims coming forward that we have been able to show the impact on the public across those hours and we are very thankful for the people who have submitted their stories to us.”