Three members of Insulate Britain interrupted the trial of magistrates by sticking their hands on the court furniture and paying tribute to the environmental activist who died after setting himself on fire before the US Supreme Court.
Dr Diana Warner, a retired GP in Bristol, was due to stand trial in Stratford on charges of causing public disturbance by obstructing junction 14 of the M25 on September 27 last year.
But when she entered the dock, Insulate Britain colleagues Liam Norton and Anna Hayatavin followed her to court, began filming and broadcasting with their phones and clinging to the furniture.
Warner said: “Just a few days ago, someone called Win Bruce self-immolating. It caught fire because the authorities are not paying attention to the climate. “
Sticking his hand to the dock glass and ignoring the judge’s orders to identify himself, Warner continued: “First I want to say this and pay tribute to Win Bruce and Angus Rose, who has been on hunger strike for 37 years. days outside our parliament.
Isolate UK members (left to right) Anna Hayatavin, Dr Diana Warner and Liam Norton before the Warner trial. Photo: Yui Mok / PA
“We are in a difficult situation. We are fighting for the lives of our children, for the future of our grandchildren, and we must not be here. We need the courts to take proper care of the law and the right to human rights, even the human right to life is at stake. ”
Norton tried to reach the bench in front of the court, but was squeezed to the floor when he tried to stick his hand in it. Hayatavin managed to cling to a lawyer’s bench near the dock, holding his phone up.
She said: “We are not criminals. They brought us here because we asked for insulation for our damp apartments. We are not criminals … Here we are accused of asking for the isolation of social housing in Britain. I’ve been in prison for three months, I’ve been fined £ 5,000, now I have to go back to court.
“This is not a protest, this is civil resistance.
Five police officers were brought to the court and the room was cleared.
Last fall, Insulate Britain made headlines across the country for a series of protests against a blockade of the M25 and other major roads in London and south-east England. They have vowed to continue their protests until the government agrees to a national program to isolate all British homes by 2030, starting with social housing.
Why do so many people hate Insulate Britain? Inside the controversial protest movement
Hayatavin and Norton had to appear in court later on the same charges. A number of other cases by Insulate Britain members have been heard before. They had chosen to have their cases heard in the Crown Court, where the verdict would be handed down by a jury, but the potential sentences could be much higher.
Before entering court on Tuesday, Warner, who has been in prison four times since 2020, told the Guardian: “I feel like a yo-yo, being in and out of prison. I was much less at home than in court or on the road. So I feel like a guest in my own home. ”
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This comes as hundreds of allegations of protests to isolate Britain have to be heard in the courts of Kent, Essex and London. On Friday, the group said 129 supporters had been charged with a total of 510 crimes, including 218 charges of causing public unrest, 268 charges of intentional obstruction of the motorway and 20 charges of criminal damage under £ 5,000. Twenty-five defendants’ cases were listed for Stratford on Tuesday, but 13 did not appear. Four are said to be protesting and another is already in jail.
On Friday, Insulate Britain’s cases will be heard in three magistrates’ courts on the same day.
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