Five Insulate Britain activists jailed over M25 protest after gluing themselves to court steps

Four of the protesters jailed glued themselves to the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday

Five Insulate Britain activists have been jailed at the High Court after breaching an injunction by protesting on the M25 last year.

Four of the protesters jailed today had glued themselves to the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice in defiance of the proceedings on Tuesday.

Theresa Norton, 63, Dr Diana Warner, 62, El Litten, 35, and Steve Pritchard, 62, were today jailed for between 24 and 42 days. The fifth activist Ben Taylor, 27, was jailed for 32 days.

The five protesters were among a group of 19 accused of breaching an injunction aimed at curbing the group’s climate change protests on the M25 in October last year.

National Highways said in written arguments the protests by the environmental group “endangered the free flow of traffic” or “blocked, endangered, slowed down, prevented and obstructed the free flow of traffic”.

On Wednesday morning, the court building briefly saw more protest action after a large banner was unfurled from a balcony inside the main hall bearing the words “Insulate or die”.

Announcing the court’s ruling today, Mr Justice William Davis said he and Mr Justice Johnson were not reviewing the injunction.

An Insulate Britain banner outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday (AFP/Getty)

The judge said: “We are simply concerned with the fact that an order was made by a court and a court order is to be obeyed.

“The rule of law would fall apart if people decided which orders and which laws they chose to abide by and which they did not.”

He said they were asked by Mr Pritchard earlier on Wednesday to “exercise moral courage and imagination”.

The judge added: “I emphasise, we are here to enforce a lawful court order ... what we are engaged in is in no sense a value judgment about the merits or demerits of government policy in relation to climate change.

“This is a court of law, not of public policy.”

The judge said the four people who glued themselves to the steps of the court on Tuesday were not being punished for those actions, but he added that it “does demonstrate their anxiety to continue the protest with which we are dealing today”.

The remaining protesters were given suspended sentences, but will be jailed if they breach the injunction within the next two years.

Biff Whipster, 54, Stephen Gower, 55, and Paul Sheeky, 46, were given 24-day terms; Ruth Jarman, 58, and Rev Sue Parfitt, 79, were given 30-day sentences; Ben Buse, 36, received a 40-day sentence; David Nixon, 35, Gabriella Ditton, 28, Indigo Rumbelow, 27, and Stephanie Aylett, 27, were given 42-day terms; and Christian Rowe, 24, received a 60-day sentence.

The activists handed suspended sentences were taken initially down to the cells amid applause and cries of “love you” from supporters in the courtroom.

Additional reporting by agencies

Have you got a story you would like us to report on? Contact us by clicking here