Judge who reluctantly found Just Stop Oil supporters from Greater Manchester guilty of disrupting oil supplies at Birmingham Esso Terminal, says “You should feel guilty for nothing”
Three Just Stop Oil supporters from Greater Manchester have been found guilty of Aggravated Trespass yesterday. They were among 13 Just Stop Oil supporters who blockaded the Esso Fuel Terminal in Birmingham in April 2022.
Just Stop Oil is demanding that the government halt licences and consents for any new fossil fuel projects in the UK [1]. The Government is planning to issue over 100 North Sea oil and gas licenses, which climate scientists warn is incompatible with tackling the climate crisis.
Paul Barnes, 43, a design manager and father of two from Bolton, Alan Woods, 58, a company director from Wigan, and Oliver Clegg, 20, a plant science student from Manchester, appeared at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court before Judge Wilkinson, on trial with six others. They were found guilty, sentenced to a 12-month conditional discharge and made to pay costs of between £250 and £500 costs and a £22 surcharge.
The Just Stop Oil supporters peacefully blockaded the entrance to the Esso Fuel Depot, owned and operated by Exxon Mobil, and stopped distribution for nearly 12 hours on 3 April 2022 [2].
During the trial, Judge Wilkinson heard evidence from the defendants that Esso, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil, had led a sustained campaign of misinformation, across many decades, over the role of fossil fuels in climate breakdown.
Paul Barnes said: “My children, who are seven and four years old, have no concept of the risks our government is taking, by issuing over 100 new fossil fuel licences. It’s my job to protect my children, now and into the future, to weigh up the risks and to take action to prevent them from coming to harm. It is the government’s job to do the same for their citizens. A duty they are failing to undertake, for the sake of the short-term profits of oil companies and big business.”
Alan Woods said “Esso knew about the climate crisis as long ago as 1979. They deceived the public, misled their shareholders, and robbed humanity of a generation’s worth of time to reverse the damage their product has caused. I participated in this action in order to highlight this, and to demand the UK do not license any further fossil fuel projects.”
Oliver Clegg said: “I never expected that I’d find myself breaking the law, getting arrested and before a judge. However, I also never expected that the government would license new oil, gas and even coal mines, whilst claiming it’s leading the world on the climate crisis! If the government will not stand up to the fossil fuel industry, then it’s up to young people to defend our own futures.”
After initially describing the Just Stop Oil supporters as “self-appointed vigilantes,” on hearing the testimonies from the defendants the prosecutor, Mr Fielding, explicitly retracted that comment and conceded the Just Stop Oil supporters were “good people.”
In summation Judge Wilkinson said:
“It’s abundantly clear that you are all good people. …It’s unarguable that man-made global warming is real and we are facing a climate emergency. Your aims are ably and genuinely articulated and are supported by the science. …When the United Nations Secretary General gives a speech saying that the activity of fossil fuel companies are incompatible with human survival, we should all be very aware of the need for change. Millions of people, and I do not dispute that it may be as many as 1 billion people, will be displaced as a result of climate change.”
“No-one can criticise your motivations. You all gave evidence that was deeply moving. I certainly was moved. The tragedy is that good people have felt so much without hope, that you feel you have to come into conflict with the criminal justice system.”
“Thank you for opening my eyes to certain things”
“I say this, and I mean this sadly, I have to convict you. …You should feel guilty for nothing. You should feel proud that you care, have concern for the future. I urge you not to break the law again. Good luck to all of you.”
The result of this trial comes in the wake of the acquittal on the 25th January 2023, of a further four Just Stop Oil supporters who also blocked the Esso Fuel Terminal on the 3rd April 2022. [3]
Since the Just Stop Oil campaign launched on the 14th February 2022, there have been over 2,000 arrests and 138 people have spent time in prison, many without trial. There are currently seven Just Stop Oil supporters and one Insulate Britain supporter in prison awaiting trial or serving sentences for actions taken with the campaigns.
During the latest campaign of disruption in Autumn 2022, polling showed a huge surge in support for nonviolent direct action of the sort carried out by Just Stop Oil, with 66% saying they support taking nonviolent direct action to protect the climate and just 34% opposed. [4]
A spokesperson for Just Stop Oil said:
“The law is failing us – the wrong people are being criminalised. We know that we’re on course for catastrophic climate breakdown because of our continued burning of fossil fuels. And yet the government plans to issue over 100 new oil and gas licences – a plan that scientists warn will take the world over 1.5C, resulting in the collapse of ordered society, the loss of our rights and freedoms and the death of millions of people. The fossil fuel companies and the governments supporting their deadly interests are the real criminals – not those who are doing everything they nonviolently can to prevent disaster.
In the face of this reality, disruptive civil resistance is now inevitable and justified, and it will continue until the government changes course. Our families, communities, our country and civilisation are on the cliff edge of destruction, and we refuse to stand by. After decades of public debate, lobbying and petitioning, we have nowhere else to go. The government is doubling down on fossil fuels, indicating ever greater levels of criminality, so we have to stop them. Please join us – join our weekly online zoom sessions on Tuesdays at 7pm”.
