Just Stop Oil protest: Trial shown footage of delayed nurse

Environmental activists brought traffic to a halt on busy motorways and main roads in autumn

The trial of six people accused of wilful obstruction of a highway has been shown footage of a nurse delayed by a Just Stop Oil demonstration.

The protest, on the junction of Cromwell Road and Exhibition Road in central London, caused queues in both directions of the dual carriageway.

A police officer said the nurse had been on her way to deliver urgent care, but his account was disputed in court.

Each of the defendants has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The climate activists on trial are:

• Benjamin Larsen, 25, from Wirral on Merseyside

• Lora Johnson, 38, from Brislington in Bristol

• Ben Sansam, 38, from Easton in Bristol

• Anna Retallack, 58, from Falmouth in Cornwall

• Stephen Jarvis, 66, from Bideford in Devon

• Rachel Payne, 71, from Banbury in Oxfordshire

They were among 17 people who sat on the road in Kensington in the path of traffic on 19 October, Westminster Magistrates Court heard.

It marked the 19th consecutive day of disruption in the capital caused by Just Stop Oil.

Body-worn footage from Met Police officer Daniel Woodley, who attended the scene, was shown in court earlier.

It showed a woman approaching him as he walked between queueing vehicles and saying: "I'm a nurse waiting to do swabs on a VIP, do you mind if I do a U-ey (U-turn)?"

Just Stop Oil protesters blocked roads in London in October

Pc Woodley said the nurse had been on her way to attend a 90-year-old patient who was "in desperate need of care," however, Ms Retallack, who was self-representing, contested his account.

She said the nurse had mentioned an elderly patient, but the officer had confused the nurse with another motorist who had complained of being late to a "meeting" with a 90-year-old.

The court was played the bodycam footage twice, which showed there was no mention by the nurse of any 90-year-old patient.

Several other motorists were shown in the footage asking the officer what was causing the delay.

Pc Woodley said: "They were very stressed out, there were a lot of grievances."

Ms Retallack said she had felt obliged to take disruptive action because "all legal forms of protest are a complete waste of time".

She said they had "some really amazing, positive interactions with the public".

Orange paint was sprayed on the Bank of England in October in protest

Another defendant, Ms Johnson, a former chef living in Brislington, said she had joined the protest to protect her seven-year-old son's future.

She told the court: "We lost 50% of our potato harvest last year, we had 40 degree heat, we had birds falling from the sky, we had wildfires and the worst year (for fires) since the Blitz."

She said the government would not listen to lawful protests, "if it is ignoring its own scientists".

"How do I look my son in the eye when he tells me what he wants to be when he grows up, knowing that if we don't stop this now, he won't have a chance to have a liveable future?" she told the court.

Sgt Kevin Nelson, who led the Met's response to the demonstration, told the court when his team arrived at 10:00 GMT, there was a traffic queue of "a least a few hundred yards" in each direction.

He said each defendant, except Ms Johnson had glued themselves to the road.

Sgt Nelson acknowledged Just Stop Oil typically ensured some of its members were not glued to the ground so they could assist the safe passage of emergency vehicles.

He added that he was not aware of any ambulances being delayed by the 19 October demonstration.

Prosecutor Jason Seetal said: "The Crown accepts that the issue that they were protesting about is an important issue".

The trial is expected to last for two days.