Van Gogh soup protest and M25 blockade among cases in January hearing

~ Andy Meinke ~

In July, when five Just Stop Oil activists were jailed for a total of 21 years for a plan to block the M25 motorway in London, it was part of a huge jump in sentencing for peaceful protesters. Prior to the Dartford Bridge Two, who got 36 and 27 months in 2023, the longest sentence we could recall for a peaceful protest case was 6 months for swimming in front of the Boat Race. Now this case will go before the Court of Appeals along with other heavy sentences: other M25 blockaders, the two activists who threw soup on the glass protecting Van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting (all received 20-24 months), and activists who occupied tunnels dug under the road to an oil terminal (ranging between 3 years and 15-18 months).

So what are their prospects? And is the hearing likely to moderate the upward trend in sentences for peaceful protestors?

These are appeals against the severity of the sentences, not the conviction. It is especially important because there are no sentencing guidelines for Public Nuisance (now s78 Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, maximum sentence 10 years), so Criminal Courts take their lead from what the Cour of Appeal says, especially when the panel is chaired by the Chief Justice. Lady Carr had heard the Dartford Bridge appeal just before she took over the top job, which is worrying. But maybe she has had a change of heart.

We don’t know who the rest of the Judges are yet but so far we have Danny Friedman KC putting the case for leniency and Raj Chada of Hodge Jones & Allan directing operations in the background. If you’re thinking of attending the Royal Courts of Justice on 29-30 January, be warned that it may be difficult to get a seat. We may get an extra courtroom with live video link. Well worth the entry fee (it’s free) to see some of our top defence lawyers in action. The Judgement itself will come a month or two later. 

Realistically, the best we can hope for in the M25 and tunnelling cases are some small cuts to the sentences. An important issue is the lack of any reduction for them being a ‘crime of conscience’. I’m hoping for a bit more on the ‘souping’ of the paintings. The very low value of the damage and the spurious idea that the publics’ enjoyment of galleries has been compromised by the protests suggests some room for a discount. Call me a philistine but I prefer live action art anyway. Lady Carr has recently heard an appeal from far-right rioters and hopefully will think the gallery protesters don’t merit the same level of sentences.

The Royal Courts on the Strand do look like a fairy tale castle, but a better analogy is the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz. Those trooping the yellow brick road to its doors in hope of getting their wishes fulfilled have a variety of motivations. Some, like the straw-headed Scarecrow, expect Justice. Then there are those like the Tin Man who expect the Courts to have a heart. The Lion may have lost his courage now his plan to ‘fill the jails’ has rebounded on him. But mostly prisoners are like Dorothy and “just want to go home”, only they don’t have any magic slippers.