Extinction Rebellion Heathrow activist sentenced over drone plan

Larch Maxey, Roger Hallam and Michael Lynch-White outside Isleworth Crown Court in London, where they received suspended sentences

An Extinction Rebellion co-founder has been given a suspended jail sentence for plotting to close Heathrow Airport using a drone.

Roger Hallam, 57, who said a plan for a third runway was "a crime against humanity", was found guilty of conspiring to cause a public nuisance between 1 August and 14 September.

He and co-defendant Larch Maxey claimed it was "merely a publicity exercise".

Their defence was rejected by the jury at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday.

Hallam and fellow eco-activists wanted the protest "to go viral" and shut down the airport, trigger arrests and generate publicity, the trial heard.

Roger Hallam co-founded eco-protest group Extinction Rebellion

Hallam, from Wandsworth, south London, and Maxey, 51, of no fixed address, were found guilty of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance last year after a four-week trial.

Another man, Michael Lynch-White, 33, from Lewes in Sussex, previously pleaded guilty to the same charge.

Valerie Milner-Brown, 71, from Islington, north London, was found not guilty of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.

Prosecuting, James Curtis KC said the intention of Hallam, Maxey and Lynch-White was "to close Heathrow indefinitely until the Government would agree publicly to reverse a national policy permitting the third runway extension".

The policing cost to the public was in excess of £1 million, and 1,600 officer shifts had to be moved, the court was told.

Hallam and Maxey were each sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for 18 months.

Lynch-White was handed a 17 month sentence, suspended for 18 months.

Activists planned to fly drones within the exclusion zone at Heathrow Airport

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