Walthamstow ex-social worker in High Court over holding placard

Trudi Warner's lawyers say her actions do not mount to contempt

A retired social worker from east London committed "contempt of court" by holding a placard outside a court ahead of a trial of climate protesters, a High Court hearing has been told.

On Thursday, lawyers for the Solicitor General asked for the green light to proceed with legal action against Trudi Warner.

They argued the 69-year-old interfered with the "administration of justice".

Mr Justice Saini is due to make a decision on Monday.

Ms Warner, from Walthamstow, was arrested after she held up a hand-written sign on 27 March 2023 outside Inner London Crown Court ahead of a trial of Insulate Britain activists.

It read: "Jurors you have an absolute right to acquit a defendant according to your conscience."

It was in reference to a plaque inside the Old Bailey following a trial in 1670 where jurors returned a not guilty verdict.

It refers to the the "right of juries" to give their verdict according to their convictions.

The plaque inside the Old Bailey following a trial in 1670 where jurors returned a not guilty verdict

Barristers for Ms Warner argue her actions do not constitute an offence and that it is not in the public interest to take legal action against her.

Speaking in a packed court on Thursday, Aidan Eardley KC, representing the government, said the incident was "a confrontation with jurors, calculated objectively, and intended subjectively, to tell them how to go about doing their job".

He added that the "public needs to know" that they could perform their role as jurors "without being bombarded with instructions from bystanders about how they go about that task".

Ms Warner was seen on CCTV outside the court for around half an hour on the morning of 27 March, the first day of the trial, but did not speak to any members of the public.

The Attorney General's Office announced its decision to take legal action against Ms Warner last September, which prompted hundreds of people to hold similar signs outside courts across the country in solidarity.

Several protesters held placards outside the Royal Courts of Justice again on Thursday.

• Government tries again to ban 'guerrilla' protests

Ms Warner's barristers told the court that she acted as a "human billboard" to advertise a "vital constitutional, if occasionally used, safeguard against unjust prosecutions".

Lawyer Clare Montgomery KC said: "The solicitor general has placed before the court an entirely false picture of what was taking place.

"At no stage did Ms Warner direct, instruct, cajole or try to persuade any juror to disobey a direction of the judge.

"The sign she had said what it said and did no more.

"It cannot in any circumstances give rise to any species of contempt," she added.

Mr Justice Saini must now decide if there is a reasonable basis for committal and whether it is in the public interest that the contempt application should be made.

The hearing continues.

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