Two Just Stop Oil supporters were given suspended sentences at Oxford Crown Court today, after being convicted for spray painting the historic Radcliffe Camera building orange to demand an end to new oil and gas licensing. [1] 

On 10th October 2023, Daniel Knorr, then 21, and a biochemistry student at Oxford and Noah Crane, then 18, used a fire extinguisher to spray water based paint on the historic Radcliffe Camera building at Oxford University.  [2] 

Three weeks before the protest, the British government had granted approval to the Rosebank project in the North Sea, containing 500 million barrels of oil equivalent. In 2022, the UK had broken 40C for the first time in recorded history, and in September 2023 was experiencing record breaking temperatures far outside any model or forecast. [3] [4]

This week the pair appeared before Judge Gledhill at Oxford Crown Court to face one count of criminal damage, and one count of having an article with intent to destroy or damage property, namely two fire extinguishers filled with paint. 

Ahead of the trial, Judge Gledhill ruled out the possible legal defences of proportionality and belief in consent and suggested that if Noah and Daniel pleaded guilty, thereby saving court time, he would be able to suspend their sentences. Otherwise, he warned, if they were found guilty at trial they may spend some time in prison. Noah changed his plea to guilty, while Daniel pleaded not guilty. With no legal defences to argue, Daniel’s barrister was obliged to recluse herself, leaving Daniel to self-represent.

Today, after three hours deliberation the jury returned a guilty verdict for Daniel. The Judge handed down an 20 week sentence suspended for 2 years, unpaid work of 150 hours and costs of £4000. Noah, who was also sentenced immediately following the verdict, was given a 16 week sentence suspended for 2 years, 120 hours unpaid work and £1,500 costs.

Following the trial, Daniel Knorr, 24, said:

“By refusing to speak up and act the university is undermining the conditions of its own existence, whilst this remains true students will continue to resist. Students are being prepared for future careers that simply will not exist, we refuse to let this farce continue to play out. Students will not simply learn about their own slaughter and just meekly accept this, we will continue to resist.”

Noah Crane, 21, said:

“Courts and the law are all made up. The only authority they have is the violence they can inflict, predominantly on those who are already having a hard time. Equally, the only stock that can be put in this verdict is that if I commit another crime in the next two years I’ll spend a few weeks in prison. I expect that’s a bridge I will end up crossing. 

“I ended up pleading because I have no respect for the procedure. Daniel continued to have a chance to speak the truth to the jury. I am so proud of them for doing that so well.”

The prosecution case was that the pair had sprayed the grade one listed building with orange paint from a fire extinguisher. It was further suggested that as the action was happening, a staff member coming out of the building was hit with some paint. The university had to use a steam-based system to get the paint off at a cost of £2,984.83. 

The pair had with them a copy of an academic paper which was included in the jury bundle as evidence. It was “No research on a dead planet: preserving the socio-ecological conditions for academia”  which explores why, despite thousands of higher education institutions having issued Climate Emergency declarations, most academics continue to operate in line with business-as-usual. It warns that this process of ‘socially organized denial’, increases the risk of “climate impacts so severe as to threaten the persistence of organized society, and thus higher education institutions themselves.”  [5]

In his defence, Daniel did not deny taking action or that he thought there might be some clean up costs. He said that he didn’t intend to cause lasting damage and that they had used water based children’s paint. 

He explained that he and Noah had wanted to stop paint going on people so staff were warned in advance and someone else went and let people know it was a nonviolent action. After the action they sat down on the grass with a loud hailer making declarations about climate change while people handed out leaflets. 

Daniel explained that he was deeply concerned about the climate crisis and he had written to MPs, and to professors at universities, addressing his fears.  When the Government had started issuing new oil exploration licences he felt he really needed to take action. He had studied the civil rights movement and the suffragettes and knew that they had changed history.  He referenced a protest by students at Kings College London in 2017 which had resulted in the College divesting from fossil fuels.  Coincidentally Judge Gledhill had presided over that case and the jury had decided that the protesters were not guilty. [6]

In summing up he said “I engaged in what amounts to be a common type of student protest, in fact chalk paint is regularly used to decorate 17th century college walls to celebrate winning rowing teams. On the other hand, the world is facing a crisis that affects the survival of humanity. In your Jury bundles you have an academic paper warning, in the strongest possible terms, of the destruction of higher academic institutions themselves, I urge you to read it.” 

He went on to say that “In Britain, we have good old fashioned common sense. We can and should weigh up the difference between children’s paint and the collapse of our way of life, we can have a common sense of balance about these things.”

“In times like this we all have a responsibility to act for the truth and what is good in the world. You may feel locked into serving a guilty verdict upon me and I completely understand that. But as I said in my evidence you always have two verdicts in front of you to decide from. The King’s College defendants were in the exact same position as me, having caused a higher value of damage and with no legal defences, but the Jury exercised their right of independence and found them not guilty anyway.”

In summing up the Judge directed the jury to ignore the protestors outside the court with placards and that while ‘protesting peacefully is a fundamental right of democracy‘ he did not want the jury to be influenced by them. He went on to say that we have a right to freedom of expression, but with rights come responsibilities and our society only works when we obey the laws. In relation to Daniel’s views on climate change he said that the case was not about whether Daniel’s beliefs on climate change are right or wrong but whether he had committed a criminal offence. He mentioned that Daniel and Noah had acted jointly  with Noah and that Noah had pleaded guilty. In relation to the damage costs the Judge said that the defendant had thought it wouldn’t cost so much, but concluded that “This is a court of law not a court of sympathy”.

In 2025, 143 staff, students and alumni of Oxford University signed a public letter to state their view that Daniel and Noah’s action was justified in order to bring attention to the escalating climate crises and challenge government policy on oil licensing which may contribute to billions of deaths worldwide.  [7]

ENDS

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Notes to Editors

[1] In 2024 Just Stop Oil successfully won its original demand of ‘no new oil and gas’. But we all know that it’s not enough. We need to end all fossil fuels completely to have any hope of heading off the horror that our heating world will bring. With fascist and authoritarian forces on the rise everywhere, our democracy is under threat. We are all Just Stop Oil now – what will you do?  

Register to join the online call on 3rd October 2026:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/UXLrTRshRv60LYDn7naUxg

[2] Action press release 10 October 2023 https://juststopoil.org/2023/10/10/just-stop-oil-students-paint-exeter-and-oxford-university-in-resistance-to-new-oil-and-gas/

[3] Guardian 27th Sept 2023: UK go-ahead for North Sea oil and gas field angers environmental groups
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/sep/27/uk-gives-go-ahead-to-develop-rosebank-oil-and-gas-field-in-north-sea

[4] Guardian 5th Oct 2023: ‘Gobsmackingly bananas’: scientists stunned by planet’s record September heat
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/05/gobsmackingly-bananas-scientists-stunned-by-planets-record-september-heat

[5] “No research on a dead planet”: preserving the socio-ecological conditions for academia: Thierry A, Horn L, von Hellermann P and Gardner CJ (2023)
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1237076/full

[6] Extinction Rebellion founder cleared over King’s College protest
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/09/extinction-rebellion-founder-cleared-over-kings-college-protest

[7] A Statement of Support for the Radcliffe Camera Protesters
To date signed by 143 Oxford University professors, lecturers, researchers and alumni and well known authors, musicians and campaigners such as George Monbiot, Brian Eno and Jonathan Porritt. https://radcam2.wordpress.com/