Four Insulated Britain supporters have been found not guilty for their actions during Insulated Britain’s 2021 non-violent civil resistance campaign demanding the UK government insulate cold and leaky homes. Ta.
Emily Brocklebank, Ruth Cooke, Anna Heyatawin and Ian Webb were arrested in Woolwich on September 27, 2021, on a common law public nuisance charge for blocking the M25 at J14 near Heathrow Airport. He was being tried at the Crown Court before Mr Justice C. Grout.
Mr Justice Grout allowed the defendant to speak about the climate crisis in his closing speech, in contrast to the previous Insulated Britain public nuisance trial under Mr Justice Cyrus Reid.
They are motivated by Insulated Britain and their motivations for action, concerns for families given the predicted climate impacts, the poor state of the UK’s housing stock and the government’s unpreparedness for what is to come. Explained the need for civil resistance.
testimony
Ruth Cooke, 72, a grandmother and director of a small training company in Somerset, shares her fears about climate breakdown, her past experience working for a charity providing food aid to refugees in Greece, and her recent work in England and Wales. He talked about the flood that occurred in
She wondered what would happen to Woolwich and the surrounding area if the Thames embankments were no longer sufficient to prevent water levels from rising. Mr Cooke arrived late to court due to travel disruptions caused by widespread flooding across England and Wales, including his home town.
After a six-day trial, 12 jurors returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty in just one hour.
Speaking after the verdict, Mr Cook said: “We took to the streets every day, risking detention, and we are extremely proud of what Insulated Britain has achieved.
“Our aim was to shame the government into tackling the climate crisis by insulating homes. Britain’s housing stock is the worst in Europe, with thousands of preventable losses due to cold and damp. People are dying and people are being forced to choose between food and heating,” she added.
summoned
To date, Insulated Britain’s jury trials for 23 public nuisance offenses have resulted in hung juries in four cases, not guilty verdicts in three cases, guilty verdicts in 13 cases and adjournments in three cases. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has applied for retrials in three cases where juries failed to reach a majority verdict.
In total, the CPS summoned 56 supporters to answer at least 201 public nuisance charges in around 45 jury trials. The trial is scheduled to run until June 2025 at Inner London, Hove, Lewes, Reading and Woolwich Crown Courts.
