Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion was found not guilty today of obstruction of a public highway and breaching an order under Section 14 of the Public Order Act in Balcombe last August.
Her co-defendants Josef Dobraszczyk from Bristol; Ruth Jarman from Hook, Hampshire; Sheila Menon, from north east London and Ruth Potts from Totnes, Devon were also cleared of both charges.
Following the verdict Caroline made a statement from the steps of the court to the media and her supporters.
She said: “We’re very pleased that the court upheld our right to peacefully protest against fracking. Protest is the lifeblood of democracy. We are deeply concerned that the right to protest is being eroded and undermined with legitimate protest criminalised by oppressive policing in an attempt to silence dissent.
“This judgement is right but it is not a victory or a cause for celebration. We will continue to campaign to end fracking and will only celebrate when our world is on the path to a clean energy future.
“The UN’s latest comprehensive reports on climate changes make it clearer than ever that exploiting new forms of fossil fuels such as shale gas will fatally undermine the governments stated ambition to protect Britain from the worst impacts of the climate crisis and to meet our international obligations to reduce emissions. The only safe and responsible thing to do with shale gas is to leave it in the ground.
“Fracking will not lower our fuel bills, it will not give us energy security and it will not create significant numbers of jobs. Fracking will accelerate climate change, polute our environment and lock us into yet more dependance on fossil fuels precisely when the overwhelming scientific and political consensus confirms that we need to move urgently in the opposite direction.
“Now more than ever David Cameron must listen to the climate scientists rather than letting oil and gas industry lobbyists dictate UK energy policy. He needs to show real leadership by calling for an immediate end to fracking. Finally we would like to thank all of our supporters who have come to court and to the thousands who have sent messages of support, the action that we took was for all of our futures.”
Sussex Police moved quickly to defend their actions and issued the following statement: “The operation was a difficult balancing act throughout and we have been variously reported as caving in to protestors and accused of overkill in the number of officers deployed.
“Right from the outset we made it absolutely clear that our priority in this operation was safety for the general public, local residents, protestors, Cuadrilla employees and for our own officers and staff. We worked with all sides to enable them all to meet their peacefuland lawful objectives whether they were day to day activities or protest.
“We respect the decision of the court.”
Ultimately it was the Crown Prosecution who brought the case against Caroline Lucas and her co-defendants.
They defended their decision saying: “The prosecution was in the public interest. There was sufficient evidence to prosecute and they believed there was a realistic prosepect of a conviction.”
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