A group of 16 ordinary people risk being sent to prison after they were arrested outside the Kingsbury Oil Terminal in Warwickshire this morning while sitting in the road peacefully blocking the entrance to the site.
The Just Stop Oil supporters are potentially in breach of an injunction granted to North Warwickshire Borough Council on 14th April. The private injunction gives sweeping powers of arrest to the authorities and appears designed to help the state protect the profits of the oil industry by effectively outlawing any protest activity near the Kingsbury Terminal, the largest inland oil storage depot in the country. [1]
The Just Stop Oil supporters are likely to be charged with contempt of court and if found guilty they face the prospect of unlimited fines and a prison sentence of up to two years.
Amy Pritchard, 37, a care worker from London, speaking prior to the action today, said:
“If my imprisonment helps wake people up to the seriousness of the situation, it’s worth it. The UN Secretary General clearly states ‘fossil fuels are a dead end’ and ‘delay means death’. No new oil and gas is not a controversial demand. I want to have children and I want them to have a future.”
Sarah Webb, 51, a special educational needs tutor from Oxfordshire, speaking prior to the action today, said
“I’m injunction breaking at Kingsbury and risking two years in prison, to stand peacefully on a grass verge, not blocking anything. Our Government and judicial system have now effectively outlawed peaceful protest. Is this Russia, is this China? No, it’s the UK.
“It’s down to us ordinary people now. Can you trust the government to do what is right and end new fossil fuel licences? Can you trust the fossil fuel companies to stop drilling and start building wind turbines? No, me neither. So we all need to stand up and force the government to take action.”
Since April 1st when supporters of Just Stop Oil first began blocking oil terminals there have been over 1000 arrests. The supporters of Just Stop Oil will continue the disruption until the government makes a statement that it will end new oil and gas projects in the UK.
The Just Stop Oil Coalition is calling on all of those whose futures are being destroyed, who are facing poverty now, and who are outraged at yet another betrayal by this continuing dependence on oil and gas, to step up and take action. Join our zoom calls at 7pm. It’s 2022 and the time to stand by has passed.
ENDS
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Notes to Editors
[1] https://www.northwarks.gov.uk/downloads/file/9139/injunction_order
