A group of 11 Just Stop Oil supportors face arrest today for standing peacefully outside the Kingsbury Oil Terminal holding placards in breach of an injunction granted to North Warwickshire Borough Council on 14th April. [1][2].
Of the 11, eight had been summoned for a full committal hearing at Birmingham County Court for previously breaking the injunction, and 3 have a bail hearing at the court. All chose instead, to not attend court and to travel to Kingsbury breaking the private injunction again. The injunction gives sweeping powers of arrest to the authorities and appears designed to help the state protect the oil industry by effectively outlawing any protest activity near the Kingsbury Terminal, the largest inland oil storage depot in the country. Arrest warrents have been issued for all 11 and the court case has been ajourned until Tuesday 10th May.
16 Just Stop Oil supporters have been summoned for a full committal hearing – one is currently occupying the Nustar Oil terminal in Glasgow, eight have travelled to Kingsbury and one has remained at home, six have attended at court.
Another Five Just Stop Oil supporters are due in court for a bail hearing relating to conditions imposed for breaking the injunction; three of these people chose to travel to Kingsbury and not attend court.
By failing to turn up for court today the 11 at Kingsbury and the other 2 non attendees are risking a charge of contempt of court on top of the prospect of unlimited fines and a prison sentence of up to two years.
Margaret Reid, 51 from Cumbria said
“The climate emergency is growing more and more serious, but the measures taken against climate activists are becoming more and more draconian. We’re just trying to safeguard the future of our planet. Meanwhile, the fossil fuel industry, the government and the legal system are combining all their powerful forces to shut down a small group of ordinary people protesting peacefully on a grass verge. Is that really justice?”
Gwen Harrison, 44 from Kendal said:
“The scientists have told us in no uncertain terms that there can be no new fossil fuel projects if we want a liveable future. And yet, our Government is planning 40 new North Sea oil and gas fields and is subsidising the fossil fuel industry to the tune of £236m/wk. No sane, rational or moral person can think that’s OK and neither should the courts or legal system.”
The court system, rather than upholding justice, is choosing to side with the state, thus making it complicit with the suicidal acts of the government. For this reason, these Just Stop Oil Supporters are refusing to comply with the courts.
In Scotland, Just Stop Oil supporters are now in their second day of occupying the Nustar Oil Depot, Glasgow halting production at the facility. Eight people are sitting on the pipes inside a terminal building and another three are on top of one of the huge silos. So far there have been two removals of those inside the facility, and all of those arrested yesterday were released this morning with £40 fines.
Since April 1st when supporters of Just Stop Oil first began blocking oil terminals there have been over 1200 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 [3] 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 [4]. 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
[2] Sarah Benn, 55, West Midlands, Emily Brocklebank, 23, Leeds, Michelle Charlesworth, 55, Oxfordshire, Alyson Lee, 63, Derbyshire, Simon Milner-Edwards, 65, Manchester, Barry Mitchell, 74, David Nixon, 35, South Yorkshire, Shropshire, Amy Pritchard, 37, London, Margaret Reid, 51, Cumbria, Sarah Webb, 50, Oxfordshire, Lucia Whittaker, 32, Derbyshire
[3] About Just Stop Oil
Just Stop Oil is a coalition of groups working together to demand that the government immediately halt all future licensing and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK.
We must urgently end our reliance on fossil fuels to avoid irreversible changes in the earth’s climate system. We cannot continue to burn fossil fuels in the belief that future developments in carbon capture and storage and other so-called “unicorn technologies” will allow us to suck vast quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The UK must begin this process immediately. It starts by calling a halt to any further fossil fuel projects on the UK Continental Shelf. That would give us eight years of fossil fuel production left in which to rapidly transition to a zero carbon economy.
Everyone knows we have to engage in massive changes. Just Stop Oil is a coalition of groups demanding the no-brainer things be done immediately – actions that will reduce the demand for fossil fuel energy dramatically such as insulating our homes, rethinking how we travel, getting on with renewable energy and making sure no-one is left behind.
We either come together as humanity or we die. Youth know which they choose. They have already chosen. They are in the streets to demand a future. We are all in the streets to make sure they get it. It’s as basic as that.
Further information about Just Stop Oil and our demands here: https://www.juststopoil.org
[4] Zoom call https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rdeigqDwjGtCr04Gh-czvLF3gUMVSzgkD
