Climate activists acted 'out of sacrifice' - court

Campaigners took part in protests outside the Royal Courts of Justice while the appeals were taking place

Climate change activists who were jailed for up to five years for their involvement in various demonstrations "did what they did out of sacrifice" and should have their sentences reduced, the Court of Appeal has heard.

Sixteen protesters were jailed last year for their roles in four demonstrations held by Just Stop Oil (JSO), including climbing on gantries over the M25 and throwing soup over Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers painting.

Their lawyers told the Court of Appeal the sentences breached their human rights.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) opposes the appeal bids, saying the sentences were not "wrong in law".

JSO protesters Lucia Whittaker De Abreu, Cressida Gethin, Louise Lancaster, Daniel Shaw and Roger Hallam (l-r) are among those whose sentences are being appealed

Danny Friedman KC, one of several lawyers representing the group, said some of the sentences were "the highest of their kind in modern British history".

He said that if the terms were allowed to stand, it would mark a "paradigm shift in this area of criminal law sentencing".

The court was told the protesters "acted in the knowledge that they would be prosecuted", but "none of the applicants acted out of self-interest".

Mr Friedman said: "What these applicants did by way of collective, non-violent protest, whether one likes it or not, was for the interests of the public, of the planet, and of future generations."

"They did what they did out of sacrifice," he added.

The sentences:

• Roger Hallam, co-founder of JSO and Extinction Rebellion, was jailed for five years for agreeing to disrupt traffic by having protesters climb on to gantries over the M25 for four successive days

• Daniel Shaw, Louise Lancaster, Lucia Whittaker De Abreu and Cressida Gethin each received four-year jail terms for their involvement in the same protest

• George Simonson, Theresa Higginson, Paul Bell, Gaie Delap and Paul Sousek were imprisoned for between two years and 20 months for their involvement in protests on the M25, during which they climbed on to gantries over the motorway

• Larch Maxey, Chris Bennett, Samuel Johnson and Joe Howlett were jailed for between three years and 15 months after occupying tunnels dug under the road leading to the Navigator Oil Terminal in Thurrock, Essex

• Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland were sentenced to two years and 20 months respectively for throwing soup on the protective glass covering Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers at London's National Gallery

The M25 protest led to around 50,000 hours of delays and cost the Metropolitan Police more than £1.1m

Environmental campaign groups Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace UK are supporting the appeal, having previously stated that the sentences posed a "serious threat to our democracy".

In joint written submissions, barristers for the CPS said the sentences were "neither wrong in law nor manifestly excessive".

They argued that leniency would not prevent the activists "engaging in ever-more disruptive campaigns".

They also told the Court of Appeal that "deterrence is required in order to protect the public".

The hearing, before The Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, Mr Justice Lavender and Mr Justice Griffiths, is set to conclude on Thursday.