Eight Just Stop Oil supporters were found not guilty of public nuisance at Guildford Crown Court today, after peacefully disrupting the UK’s largest petrol station, to demand an end to new fossil fuel projects.[1]
Michael Davies, Charles Laurie, Phoebe Frewer, Sophie Sharples, Tez Burns, Peter Lay, Gareth Harper and Emma Ireland took action at Cobham Services on 24 August 2022. They were among 35 Just Stop Oil supporters, who blocked three M25 petrol stations and disabled scores of petrol pumps at Cobham, Clacket Lane and Thurrock, leading the Daily Mail to proclaim that “no petrol was available for M25 drivers”. [2]
All eight were found not guilty of intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance by blocking the entrance to the petrol station. However, Tez Burns and Peter Lay were found guilty of criminal damage and Charles Laurie was found guilty of possession of a hammer with intent to damage property, after two petrol pumps were damaged. Sentencing has been scheduled for 10th October 2025.
During the trial the prosecution alleged that Police were already at the scene when the Just Stop Oil supporters arrived at around 5am and that two supporters had rushed off to damage two petrol pumps before the police could stop them, while others had acted “as a decoy” by blocking the entrance to the service station. The prosecution further alleged that this was not “peaceful protest” because in law damaging property is a violent act and that while not all eight had smashed petrol pumps, all were implicated.
A police witness confirmed that a contraflow system was set up to allow motorists to access the petrol station within 20 minutes of the entrance being blocked, while the service station manager confirmed that 34 out of 36 petrol pumps remained operational throughout and that there was little evidence to support earlier statements that large traffic queues were caused by the protest. Both prosecution witnesses and defendants struggled to recall in detail the events which happened some 3 years previously.
The Judge, Recorder L Harris, ruled that those who had been accused of criminal damage or attempted criminal damage could not claim they were exercising their rights to peaceful protest under the ECHR article 10 and 11. However, he ruled that it was for the jury to decide whether or not those who were charged with public nuisance had the reasonable excuse of peaceful protest or if they too had violent intentions by wanting the damage to the petrol pumps to occur.
In their closing speeches, all the defendants were able to refer to the agreed facts in the case, which included several key facts relating to the climate crisis.
In his closing speech, Charles Laurie said: “What is most important? The agreed facts are still going to be true. They won’t go away because you find us guilty. We all know things are getting worse on the climate. We are facing an existential crisis.” He then read from Adrienne Rich’s poem, Natural Resources : “My heart is moved by all I cannot save: so much has been destroyed, I have to cast my lot with those who age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world.”
Tez Burns said: “I did the right thing despite what the law says, there’s a threat to life.” and then quoted the UN Secretary-General António Guterres “ The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse‑gas emissions from fossil-fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk.”
Following the verdict, Emma Ireland said:
“I am grateful to the Judge and the prosecution for allowing the agreed facts on the climate crisis to have played a part in this trial and for allowing us to speak to our motivations without fear of being found in contempt of court.
“The prosecution spoke about common sense and I was reminded that in 2022, I felt that common sense would have been for the Conservative government to stop issuing new oil and gas licenses, to show a commitment to reducing carbon emissions, and in turn, to offer some protection to humanity from the gravest predictions of climate collapse. When Labour came to power that is what they did, because it’s common sense, right? And it’s common sense now that women have the vote in the UK, but to get this, the suffragettes took direct action and found themselves in court, in front of juries just like us. I’m grateful to the jury for their attentive listening, for their patience, and for the essential part they played in the trial.”
In 2024 Just Stop Oil successfully won its original demand of ‘no new oil and gas’ and on March 27th 2025 announced an end to the campaign of action. However, our supporters will continue to tell the truth in court, to speak out for our political prisoners and to help build what comes next.
ENDS
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Notes to Editors
[1] Just Stop Oil is a member of the A22 Network of civil resistance projects.
April 26th 2025 was the last Just Stop Oil action, but our supporters will continue to tell the truth in the courts, speak out for our political prisoners, and call out the UK’s oppressive anti-protest laws.
Just Stop Oil continues to rely on small donations from the public to make this happen.
[2] Breaking: Just Stop Oil blocks 3 service stations on the M25 https://juststopoil.org/2022/08/24/breaking-just-stop-oil-blocks-3-service-stations-on-the-m25/
[3] Fury as ‘NO fuel is available’ for M25 drivers after eco-mob SMASH petrol pumps: Police arrest 31 Just Stop Oil activists during rush hour wrecking sprees at Cobham, Clacket Lane and Thurrock forecourts https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11140617/Eco-mob-blockade-three-M25-services-rush-hour-32-Just-Stop-Oil-activists-sit-protest.html