GP jailed for role in Just Stop Oil protest

A GP has been jailed for his involvement in a climate protest.

In August 2022 Dr Patrick Hart, 38, caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to 16 fuel pumps at Thurrock Motorway Services, in Grays, Essex, during a Just Stop Oil demonstration.

The Bristol-based GP hit the pumps with a hammer, sprayed them with orange paint and "obstructed or otherwise interfered with the refuelling of vehicles".

He was sentenced to 12 months in prison at Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday after being found guilty of causing criminal damage.

The damage was caused after five climate activists, including Hart, breached a High Court injunction by blocking access to the M25 petrol station on 24 August by sitting on the road.

Essex County Council said the cost of repairing the pumps was £9,376.27.

The forecourt was not fully operational until 18:00 BST the next day and the temporary closure led to lost profits of £1,146.06, the court heard.

Hart, an NHS GP who has taken part in various climate protests, previously said he was prepared to risk his career for the cause if needed.

"If that's what it takes to do the right thing," he told the BBC.

Climate change is the long-term shift in the Earth's average temperatures and weather conditions.

The world has been warming up quickly over the past 100 years or so. As a result, weather patterns are changing.

Between 2014 and 2023, global temperatures were on average around 1.2C above those of the late 19th Century, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Since the 1980s, each decade has been warmer than the previous one, the UK Met Office says.

The year 2024 is "virtually certain" to end up as the world's hottest on record, according to the latest projections by the European climate service.

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