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Five Just Stop Oil activists jailed over planned M25 blockade

newsSep 5, 2026291,818

Five environmental activists, Roger Hallam, Daniel Shaw, Louise Lancaster, Lucia Whittaker De Abreu and Cressida Gethin, were jailed at Southwark Crown Court after being convicted of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance for organising protests that stopped parts of the M25 for four days in November 2022. Hallam, 58, received a five year sentence; the other four were given four year terms. Forty-five Just Stop Oil protesters climbed motorway gantries, forcing police to halt traffic and aiming to block most of the M25 so other roads could not join the motorway. The action caused nearly 51,000 hours of driver delays, closed sections of the M25 in Kent, Surrey, Essex and Hertfordshire, led to missed flights, medical appointments and exams, and preceded two lorry collisions and a police motorcyclist coming off his bike. Prosecutors put the economic cost at least £765,000 and estimated Metropolitan Police costs at more than £1.1 million. A Zoom call chaired by Shaw was infiltrated and recorded by a Sun journalist and passed to police; the judge said the recording showed intricate planning and sophistication. Judge Christopher Hehir said the defendants had crossed from concerned campaigner to fanatic and these are the longest sentences handed down since the new conspiracy to cause public nuisance offence was introduced.

onlycans
@onlycans.bsky.social

just stop oil protesters got five years in jail for *planning* to do this to the M25.

12784h ago
onlycans51

just heard dover park run got cancelled. *now* they're in trouble.

Owen Exie Hurcum 💜🤍💙🍉49

So I can only deduce that in this current UK climate these fascists will get nothing* *a sponsorship deal and a podcast maybe

Richard Approximately42

This is what you get when you have a government desperate not to upset the far-right.

Leftback27

If/when it turns out that a fair few of this lot have previous convictions, we should expect them to be sentenced per the JSO conspiracy convictions

Dr Lori-Ann Foley22

The police are ‘engaging’ with them. I’d like to think not but I’m pretty sure if the protesters had black skin instead of black masks, the response would be different. ☹️

Dr Lori-Ann Foley16

Spot the difference: Pro-human rights protesters — arrested. Racist white male facists — police are apparently walking them back to the rail station; not an arrest in sight.

Quoting this
SpinningHugo24

Rightly. These people too need to be arrested and convicted.

Daniel Nye Griffiths3

Also, we should consider that nobody is expecting to get anywhere on the M25 anyway.

Indy3

Excellent test case here. Will be interesting to see what happens.

Kevin Hoffin2

I've said it many many times, it's not what you do (or plan to), it's who you offend that affects sentencing.

Nolan Principles Matter. End the #GazaGenocide💔💙2

...and reports suggest that police are just corralling 'stop the boats' thugs towards the railway station - so zero arrests 🤔

yaoi gagarin
@mel.bzky.team

oh protesters are they? if just stop oil block a street for an hour thats a criminal offence and when a nice old grammy holds up a pro-palestine sign shes a domestic terrorist but seizing a port still counts as a protest then, i see

2404h ago
Lyri (@x25e0)11

They're just average blokes with some concerns. Those grannies with Palestine action were the real terrorists.

Maddie (delicious, nutritious)5

Years of protest in the UK has taught me that when protesters block roads, it's standard practice to openly hope that drivers slam the accelerator. Now, I wouldn't say that because it's awful, but I expect we'll surely see that sentiment repeated in the papers. Surely.

Astral-Enby2

Unrelated I'm sure they're not distracting from reforms biggest ever scandal on day 2 of their conference

sleepyhart 🦌🏳️‍🌈1

If it's pro facism, racism or bigotry its protesting. If it's anti fash and/or standing up for minorities it's terrorism. "Love" this new reality we live in.

707Kat1

Wait... this is happening in Denmark as well.

Excalibur Discount Legal Services1

Everyone has an equal right to protest, of course, but some people have more of an equal right than others.

Alison
@alicemerray.bsky.social

Presumably these twats will get the same treatment as Just Stop Oil or Insulate Britain did when they blocked roads? Right?

695h ago
ian-medgett.bsky.social
@ian-medgett.bsky.social

When Just Stop Oil blocked roads the government changed the law. Disruption of national infrastructure is now a crime. I saw farmers block up Dover - no arrests. I've watched various bands of racists block up Dover, only arrests for drunken fighting. These twats should warrant terrorism charges.

235h ago
Nick Barlow
@nickbwalking.bsky.social

4-5 yesrs in prison is apparently the going rate for blocking roads. Not holding my breath waiting for the mass arrests here, it's not like any of them are doing something truly threatening like holding a sign with 'Palestine' on it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_St...

165h ago
Leo Hickman
@leohickman.carbonbrief.org

I'm old enough to remember how the right-wing media and populist politicians reacted to Just Stop Oil blocking some roads...

163h ago
Kate ✨🐱
@magickitten.bsky.social

The dissonance of seeing Just Stop Oil and ‘I oppose genocide’ protestors hauled bodily into police vans and charged with terror offences vs the way balaclava-glad thugs are being treated while they bring a major port to a standstill…

144h ago
Joe Scaramanga
@joescaramanga.co.uk

Someone should join them with a Just Stop Oil or Palestine placard. Then the police will have it cleared in no time.

184h ago
Craig Grannell
@craiggrannell.bsky.social

Interesting timing, what with the Just Stop Oil planners getting banged up for years. I’m sure the same will happen to these upstanding gents, right? Right?

113h ago
Phil Edwards
@philedwards.bsky.social

Rolling up this mob in black won't be as easy as rolling up Just Stop Oil (they aren't just going to go floppy) or rolling up the Angry Brigade (there are more than ten of them). But it'll have to be done, or they will have won - and they'll know it.

103h ago
Neil
@stopfordianneil.bsky.social

Am I missing something? If this had been Just Stop Oil on a motorway they’d have been yeeted out of there tout d’suite. How is this any different? This is absolutely the two tier policing that Reform talk about. Sigh. Enough politics for one morning.

145h ago
Santiago Jones6

I’d imagine the demographic of dozens of middle aged men looking for a fight, vs students, pensioners and members of the clergy sitting on the floor holding handmade bits of cardboard are a bit more intimidating to kettle.

It isn't just me.
@shirleyanng.bsky.social

Just Stop Oil protesters were jailed and barred from using protection of the environment as a defence in court. Why should there be any different treatment for this lot?

154h ago
Cornish Skipper #FBPE #RejoinEU 🇪🇺🔶🌹💚💙
@cornishskipper.wsocial.eu

Assume the masked thugs blocking up Dover today will be treated the same way as Extinction Rebellion & Just Stop Oil when they blocked roads - arrested, tried & 3 years in jail. 🧐

103h ago
Gift
@giftmacher.bsky.social

Endless indulgence of fash, if it was just stop oil they'd be cheering people bouncing the fuckers off their bonnets.

134h ago
John Foot
@footymac.bsky.social

Remember Braverman etc calling for exemplary sentences against Just Stop Oil because they were 'blocking ambulances' etc etc. I'm sure they will be making the same claims about the masked fascists in Dover.

43h ago
3 sources
theguardian.comFive Just Stop Oil activists receive record sentences for planning to block M25bbc.co.ukJust Stop Oil protesters jailed after M25 blockednews.sky.comDozens of masked men stop traffic at Port of Dover as part of 'protest'

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