30th March 2022, 8am
117 people have so far been charged by Kent and Essex police for blocking the M25 motorway, the port of Dover and other highways between September and November last year during Insulate Britain’s campaign of civil resistance. Currently, 146 charges of Causing a Public Nuisance, 137 charges of Wilful Obstruction of the Highway and 10 charges of Criminal Damage have been received, though it is likely these numbers will rise as we understand that further charges are still being issued. So far the 117 ordinary people from Insulate Britain have been summoned to at least 25 plea hearings at Crawley, Chelmsford and Stratford Magistrates Courts through April and May. [1]
If found guilty in these prosecutions Insulate Britain defendants face a sliding scale of penalties. In the Crown Court Public Nuisance carries a typical maximum prison sentence of up to 5 years and an unlimited fine which is lowered to 6 months and up to the statutory maximum (currently £5000) if a trial is heard in the Magistrates Court. Obstruction of the Highway is not an imprisonable offence and carries a maximum fine of £1000.
Insulate Britain’s demand that the government takes responsibility for and fully funds a nationwide programme of home insulation and retrofitting, starting with social housing by 2025, has been widely recognised by experts and the general public alike to be the most efficient and cost-effective means of reducing energy dependency and fuel poverty. [2][3]
This has been brought home with even greater urgency by the current energy price hikes, which are plunging millions of British families into absolute poverty, and by the oil-fuelled war in Ukraine. Britain needs to end its dependency on oil by insulating homes and investing in renewables. The OECD estimates that our government subsidises oil exploration, research and development to the tune of £10 billion a year. This is unacceptable. The government must halt all future fossil fuel licences and subsidies immediately to give humanity a chance of survival. [3]
Prior to this wave of recent charges, Insulate Britain supporters have previously only faced civil action at the High Court in relation to the government’s M25 injunction sought during the campaign to stop supporters returning to the roads. 14 people from the campaign have so far received 17 prison sentences between them, with a further 12 people also receiving 20 suspended sentences after the High Court civil hearings. Insulate Britain’s campaign of civil resistance to end fuel poverty saw 174 people arrested 857 times, with some supporters returning to the roads and being arrested between 10-15 times during 18 days of roadblocks across multiple locations last year.
Notes to Editors
[1] Court Dates:
Crawley Magistrates Court; 04/04/22 10am & 2pm, 05/04/22 10am & 2pm, 06/04/22 10am & 2pm, 07/04/22 10am & 2pm, 08/04/22 10am, 11/04/22 10am & 2pm, 12/04/22 10am & 2pm, 13/04/22 10am & 2pm, 14/04/22 10am & 2pm, 28/04/22 10am & 2pm, 29/04/22 10am & 2pm
Chelmsford Magistrates Court; 26/05/22 9:30am & 1:30pm, 27/05/22 9:30am & 1:30pm
Stratford Magistrates Court; 22/04/22 9:30am, 29/04/22 9:30am, 10/05/22 9:30am
[3] https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-trade-pact-fossil-fuel-subsidies-tariffs-green-goods/amp/
[4] https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/
Statements
Cameron Ford, 31, a carpenter from Cambridge, who is summoned to appear on 4th April at Crawley Magistrates said today;
“The CPS undertaking these mass prosecutions is an attempt by our government to ignore and avoid addressing the biggest dangers facing people right now. By not insulating Britain’s leaky homes they are knowingly condemning millions more families to live in fuel poverty and thousands and thousands of our eldery to die in frozen homes next winter. The government is criminally negligent by refusing to acknowledge the scale of the climate crisis, let alone take the necessary action to prevent the environmental and civilisational collapse warned of by the UN’s latest IPCC report.
I am more scared of societal collapse than I am of government intimidation and threats. We will face the consequences of our peaceful actions with pride and we will join with our fellow campaigners in the upcoming Just Stop Oil campaign to unite our two demands: we need to Insulate Britain and we need to Just Stop Oil.”
Nick Till, 66, a university professor from London, who is summoned to appear on 6th April at Crawley Magistrates said today;
“No rational or moral person can deny any longer the extreme danger of our situation. But unfortunately our government is doing just that. The recent IPCC report made clear the scale of the catastrophe we face from climate and environmental breakdown unless we act now. Insulate Britain presented a clear and practical demand whose relevance has only become more obvious in the months since our protests. The government is not listening.
As an academic my duty is to find and tell the truth, and civil disobedience is now the only way of getting the truth out there. I am guided by the Insulate Britain motto, taken from the greatest mind of the 20th century, Albert Einstein, who said “Those who have the privilege to know have the duty to act.” I do not regret my actions. Even though I regret the inconvenience caused to many of my fellow citizens by my actions, it is nothing compared to what is coming down the line for those same people and their loved ones if we fail to do anything.”
ENDS
Press contact: 07737 457105
Email: insulatebritainpress@protonmail.com
High quality photos and video footage available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Kucq-NfhnZLGJWwLx1HX03cWR7M9Y2-m
Website: https://www.insulatebritain.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/insulatebritain
Twitter: https://twitter.com/insulatelove
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8N5mAeeCLbD-AFUqtPaF0g
About Insulate Britain
Insulate Britain is a new campaign group that is calling on the UK government to put in place policy and funding for a national home insulation programme starting with all social housing.
We demand the Prime Minister and the government to #getonwiththejob, face up to their responsibility and lead our country through the climate crisis.
We are ordinary British citizens with simple and achievable demands to #INSULATEBRITAIN
The UK government must immediately promise to fully fund and take responsibility for the insulation of all social housing in Britain.
We demand a national home insulation strategy that gives British people the justice they deserve: a future for our loved ones, lower energy bills and safer living conditions.
We are scared: our livelihoods are at risk and the futures of our children are uncertain
The Climate Crisis is a threat to all: we demand the government to act now.
Our Demands
1. That the UK government immediately promises to fully fund and take responsibility for the insulation of all social housing in Britain by 2025;
2. That the UK government immediately promises to produce within four months a legally binding national plan to fully fund and take responsibility for the full low-energy and low-carbon whole-house retrofit , with no externalised costs, of all homes in Britain by 2030 as part of a just transition to full decarbonisation of all parts of society and the economy.
Further information about Insulate Britain and our demands here: https://www.insulatebritain.com/
Technical Report on home energy efficiency here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jt5FI-kinEXoqZtPDrCvnAVQ2EFn8Aea/view
Insulate Britain ‘Blue Lights’ policy: our policy is, and has always been to move out of the way for emergency vehicles with ‘blue lights’ on.
BREAKING: Police bring over 300 charges against supporters of Insulate Britain
30th March 2022, 8am
117 people have so far been charged by Kent and Essex police for blocking the M25 motorway, the port of Dover and other highways between September and November last year during Insulate Britain’s campaign of civil resistance. Currently, 146 charges of Causing a Public Nuisance, 137 charges of Wilful Obstruction of the Highway and 10 charges of Criminal Damage have been received, though it is likely these numbers will rise as we understand that further charges are still being issued. So far the 117 ordinary people from Insulate Britain have been summoned to at least 25 plea hearings at Crawley, Chelmsford and Stratford Magistrates Courts through April and May. [1]
If found guilty in these prosecutions Insulate Britain defendants face a sliding scale of penalties. In the Crown Court Public Nuisance carries a typical maximum prison sentence of up to 5 years and an unlimited fine which is lowered to 6 months and up to the statutory maximum (currently £5000) if a trial is heard in the Magistrates Court. Obstruction of the Highway is not an imprisonable offence and carries a maximum fine of £1000.
Insulate Britain’s demand that the government takes responsibility for and fully funds a nationwide programme of home insulation and retrofitting, starting with social housing by 2025, has been widely recognised by experts and the general public alike to be the most efficient and cost-effective means of reducing energy dependency and fuel poverty. [2][3]
This has been brought home with even greater urgency by the current energy price hikes, which are plunging millions of British families into absolute poverty, and by the oil-fuelled war in Ukraine. Britain needs to end its dependency on oil by insulating homes and investing in renewables. The OECD estimates that our government subsidises oil exploration, research and development to the tune of £10 billion a year. This is unacceptable. The government must halt all future fossil fuel licences and subsidies immediately to give humanity a chance of survival. [3]
Prior to this wave of recent charges, Insulate Britain supporters have previously only faced civil action at the High Court in relation to the government’s M25 injunction sought during the campaign to stop supporters returning to the roads. 14 people from the campaign have so far received 17 prison sentences between them, with a further 12 people also receiving 20 suspended sentences after the High Court civil hearings. Insulate Britain’s campaign of civil resistance to end fuel poverty saw 174 people arrested 857 times, with some supporters returning to the roads and being arrested between 10-15 times during 18 days of roadblocks across multiple locations last year.
Notes to Editors
[1] Court Dates:
Crawley Magistrates Court; 04/04/22 10am & 2pm, 05/04/22 10am & 2pm, 06/04/22 10am & 2pm, 07/04/22 10am & 2pm, 08/04/22 10am, 11/04/22 10am & 2pm, 12/04/22 10am & 2pm, 13/04/22 10am & 2pm, 14/04/22 10am & 2pm, 28/04/22 10am & 2pm, 29/04/22 10am & 2pm
Chelmsford Magistrates Court; 26/05/22 9:30am & 1:30pm, 27/05/22 9:30am & 1:30pm
Stratford Magistrates Court; 22/04/22 9:30am, 29/04/22 9:30am, 10/05/22 9:30am
[3] https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-trade-pact-fossil-fuel-subsidies-tariffs-green-goods/amp/
[4] https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/
Statements
Cameron Ford, 31, a carpenter from Cambridge, who is summoned to appear on 4th April at Crawley Magistrates said today;
“The CPS undertaking these mass prosecutions is an attempt by our government to ignore and avoid addressing the biggest dangers facing people right now. By not insulating Britain’s leaky homes they are knowingly condemning millions more families to live in fuel poverty and thousands and thousands of our eldery to die in frozen homes next winter. The government is criminally negligent by refusing to acknowledge the scale of the climate crisis, let alone take the necessary action to prevent the environmental and civilisational collapse warned of by the UN’s latest IPCC report.
I am more scared of societal collapse than I am of government intimidation and threats. We will face the consequences of our peaceful actions with pride and we will join with our fellow campaigners in the upcoming Just Stop Oil campaign to unite our two demands: we need to Insulate Britain and we need to Just Stop Oil.”
Nick Till, 66, a university professor from London, who is summoned to appear on 6th April at Crawley Magistrates said today;
“No rational or moral person can deny any longer the extreme danger of our situation. But unfortunately our government is doing just that. The recent IPCC report made clear the scale of the catastrophe we face from climate and environmental breakdown unless we act now. Insulate Britain presented a clear and practical demand whose relevance has only become more obvious in the months since our protests. The government is not listening.
As an academic my duty is to find and tell the truth, and civil disobedience is now the only way of getting the truth out there. I am guided by the Insulate Britain motto, taken from the greatest mind of the 20th century, Albert Einstein, who said “Those who have the privilege to know have the duty to act.” I do not regret my actions. Even though I regret the inconvenience caused to many of my fellow citizens by my actions, it is nothing compared to what is coming down the line for those same people and their loved ones if we fail to do anything.”
ENDS
Press contact: 07737 457105
Email: insulatebritainpress@protonmail.com
High quality photos and video footage available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Kucq-NfhnZLGJWwLx1HX03cWR7M9Y2-m
Website: https://www.insulatebritain.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/insulatebritain
Twitter: https://twitter.com/insulatelove
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8N5mAeeCLbD-AFUqtPaF0g
About Insulate Britain
Insulate Britain is a new campaign group that is calling on the UK government to put in place policy and funding for a national home insulation programme starting with all social housing.
We demand the Prime Minister and the government to #getonwiththejob, face up to their responsibility and lead our country through the climate crisis.
We are ordinary British citizens with simple and achievable demands to #INSULATEBRITAIN
The UK government must immediately promise to fully fund and take responsibility for the insulation of all social housing in Britain.
We demand a national home insulation strategy that gives British people the justice they deserve: a future for our loved ones, lower energy bills and safer living conditions.
We are scared: our livelihoods are at risk and the futures of our children are uncertain
The Climate Crisis is a threat to all: we demand the government to act now.
Our Demands
1. That the UK government immediately promises to fully fund and take responsibility for the insulation of all social housing in Britain by 2025;
2. That the UK government immediately promises to produce within four months a legally binding national plan to fully fund and take responsibility for the full low-energy and low-carbon whole-house retrofit , with no externalised costs, of all homes in Britain by 2030 as part of a just transition to full decarbonisation of all parts of society and the economy.
Further information about Insulate Britain and our demands here: https://www.insulatebritain.com/
Technical Report on home energy efficiency here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jt5FI-kinEXoqZtPDrCvnAVQ2EFn8Aea/view
Insulate Britain ‘Blue Lights’ policy: our policy is, and has always been to move out of the way for emergency vehicles with ‘blue lights’ on.