One of the Just Stop Oil supporters who scaled the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge last October to demand an end to new oil and gas, has revealed that he faces being deported after his two-years and seven months jail term.[1]
Marcus Decker, a German citizen who has leave to remain in the UK, said he is expecting a ‘negative response’ after being served with a stage one deportation order. He is understood to have met the criteria for ‘automatic deportation’.[2]
Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker spent over 36 hours suspended above the Dartford Crossing after climbing the bridge in the early hours of 17 October 2022, as part of a six week campaign of actions by Just Stop Oil. Their actions led to severe traffic delays as the bridge was closed for more than 41 hours. [3]
Teacher Marcus, talking from prison today said:
“I’m devastated and very sad. I accepted a prison sentence as a consequence of my actions, but to lose my family, home, community and the adopted country that I have come to love feels like a double punishment.
“I know that Holly is devastated too. I stayed in this country because I fell in love with her and we have already been separated for 7 months while I’ve been in prison. Now there’s a high chance I will never go home to her and my family again.”
Marcus’ partner, Holly said:
“This is the worst thing that has happened so far. It’s pointless and unnecessary. My children and I were managing to come to terms with his prison sentence. But now it feels like the authorities are trying to completely tear our family apart forever.
“Everyone out there just sees the disruptive activist. But this is the man that I love, a wonderful step-parent who sings the children to sleep at night, a lovely human being who puts those suffering first and never himself.
“He put his own liberty and body on the line for those suffering from the climate crisis right now and was prepared to accept a prison sentence for doing so. To try to stop him coming home to us ever again is so cruel.”
Decker has previously written in Prospect Magazine that the climb was ‘a desperate last resort after we have spent years trying everything else.’
He added: ‘Like a fire alarm we tried to be loud and annoying, impossible to ignore, in order to safeguard human life.’ [4]
Marcus is appealing against the length of his prison sentence but does not expect his case to reach the Court of Appeal until at least January 2024.
A spokesperson for Just Stop Oil said:
“What Morgan and Marcus did was extraordinary and extremely disruptive. But what should you do when your government refuses to protect the people? When it ignores the repeated warnings of the world’s climate scientists. When you know that new oil and gas extraction will result in the deaths of billions of people?”
“This deportation threat from the Home Secretary is yet another attempt to silence dissent. But we will not be silenced, we will not be intimidated and we will not abandon our friends. We stand with Marcus and Morgan. Civil resistance is our only hope. This is life or death, survival or collective suicide. We won’t stop until our genocidal government ends new oil and gas.”
Tim Crosland, the former Government lawyer, said:
“I’m heartbroken by this news. Marcus was taking peaceful and courageous action to defend all those on the frontline of the climate crisis. That includes the young children he cares for so well. His action was only necessary because of the Government’s lies to the public and its betrayal of the young people of this country. And now it seems the Home Secretary plans to break up another family with this cruel and inhuman deportation plan.”
On April 21st Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker appeared before Judge Collery at Southend Crown Court and were sentenced to three years and two years and seven months respectively. These are the longest sentences for peaceful climate action in UK history.[5]
A crowdfunder has been set up to help pay legal costs for Morgan and Marcus. [6]
Since the Just Stop Oil campaign launched on 14th February 2022, there have been 2,200 arrests and 138 people have spent time in prison, many without trial. There are currently two Just Stop Oil supporters serving three year prison sentences for resisting new oil, gas and coal.
We stand with these political prisoners, with the 1,800 victims of the UK’s broken criminal justice system, imprisoned for over a year without trial, and with the 1,700 murdered across the global south, for protecting all our lives. Ordinary people must come together to resist this criminal government and hold them to account for their genocidal policies. [7][8]
Just Stop Oil is calling on everyone to get off the sidelines and join in civil resistance against new oil, gas and coal. The time is now. Join us and slow march while you still can. Our indefinite campaign of civil resistance is underway and will not end until our government ends new oil and gas.
Join Just Stop Oil on a slow march at midday every Saturday, at Parliament Square until we win.
ENDS
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Notes to Editors
[1] 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. Just Stop Oil is a member of the A22 Network of civil resistance projects. Climate Emergency Fund is Just Stop Oil’s primary funder for recruitment, training, and capacity building.
Just Stop Oil ‘Blue Lights’ policy: our policy is, and has always been, to move out of the way for emergency vehicles with siren sounding and ‘blue lights’ on.
[2] https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/legal/glossary/automatic-deportation-of-foreign-criminals
[4] https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/society/60913/why-i-went-to-prison-for-just-stop-oil
[6] For further updates about Morgan and Marcus go to : www.freemarcusandmorgan.co.uk
[7] Fair Trials reports that the number of people being held in prison without trial in England and Wales is at its highest for over 50 years, with 1,800 people in prison without trial for at least a year. https://www.fairtrials.org/articles/news/highest-number-of-people-on-remand-in-england-and-wales-for-over-50-years/
[8] A recent report from Global Witness says that more than 1,700 people have died while trying to prevent mining, oil drilling or logging on their lands. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/press-releases/deadly-decade-land-and-environmental-activists-killing-every-two-days/
