JSO activists spared jail after Heathrow glue plot

Nine Just Stop Oil (JSO) activists who were convicted of plotting to cause "unprecedented disruption" by gluing themselves to a runway at Heathrow Airport have been spared jail terms.

The group, said to have been participating as part of a wider international campaign, were found with angle grinders and glue before being arrested at the airport on 24 July.

The defendants had either already served the time they were sentenced to or they were handed suspended sentences.

At Isleworth Crown Court, Judge Hannah Duncan said the defendants had not breached the perimeter fence and they caused no disruption or "actual harm" but added they had shown "no remorse".

The court heard that seven people in two separate groups were stopped by police close to the perimeter fence at the airport at about 09:00 BST.

They had arrived at the airport carrying rucksacks containing angle grinders, safety glasses, high-visibility orange vests, superglue, cable ties and earplugs, prosecutor Emma Fielding told the court.

"The Crown's case in relation to those defendants is that they were intending to cut their way through the perimeter fence in the two separate groups, so to make two separate cut points in the fence, and to enter the airport," Ms Fielding said.

She added that the defendants "entered into a plan to cause unprecedented disruption to Heathrow Airport".

Ms Fielding said the group were planning to go on to a taxiway if they had the opportunity to do so and to use the glue or cable ties to attach themselves to one another or to objects on the ground - actions that would have caused Heathrow Airport to "come to a standstill".

The nine defendant appearing in court were Sally Davidson, 37, of Portland, Adam Beard, 55, of Stroud, Luke Elson, 32, of Stratford, east London, Luke Watson, 35, of Tottenham Marshes, Sean O'Callaghan, 30 of Dorking, Hannah Schafer, 61, of Ceredigion, Rory Wilson, 26, of Limehouse, and organisers Rosa Hicks, 29, of Winchester, and William Goldring, 27, of Rye Lane in Peckham.

All of the defendants, except Schafer and Wilson, were ordered to pay £2,000 each towards the costs of the trial.

It was clear that airports were going to be the target for climate protesters in 2024, Judge Duncan said in her sentencing remarks.

Meetings and recruitment drives took place and the phrase "unprecedented disruption" featured in the promotion for this campaign, Judge Duncan said.

She told the defendants they treated their trial as an "extension of the protest", adding: "A courtroom is not a street or a town square, and it is run at considerable cost. It's where allegations of crimes are tried, where often the most vulnerable people in society find themselves as defendants or as witnesses.

"There are women and children who have been abused, sexually assaulted or raped who are waiting for courtrooms.

"You used one for seven weeks, some of you dragging it out as much as you could at every opportunity, lying about your actions and intentions that day all to get more publicity.

"It does not add a single day to your sentence but it demonstrates your lack of remorse until now and it exposes the lie of accountability."

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