A group of climate protesters who caused £100,000 in damage by smashing the front windows of a Barclays bank in London have been spared jail.
Carol Wood, 54; Sophie Cowen, 32; Lucy Porter, 48; Gabriella Ditton, 29; Rosemary Webster, 64; and Zoe Cohen, 52, were convicted of criminal damage on Monday over the incident that took place on April 7 last year.
Porter, Ditton and Webster were all on bail at the time and have been given a suspended sentence of eight months.
Wood and Cohen were given a suspended sentence of seven months and Cowen a suspended sentence of six months.
The sentences for all of the women have been suspended for two years.
More than 20 supporters whooped and clapped as Judge David Milne KC concluded the hearing at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.
In April last year, the group spread out along the front of Barclays bank in Canary Wharf, east London, before using chisels and hammers to break the large glass panels that made up the exterior of the bank.
Their actions were associated with climate change campaign group Extinction Rebellion.
During their trial, they argued that Barclays staff would have consented to the damage if they were fully informed about the climate crisis and said they did not mean to cause as much damage as they did.
Owen Grenhall, defending Wood, said: “There is a difference between a protester and those who are normally before the court in other matters of criminality.
“There is evidence of some planning of the protest. Much of the planning went to aspects of safety. Their planning was to ensure the action was carried out as safe as possible.
“In terms of whether very serious damage was caused, my submission is they did not intend to cause damage at the financial levels which resulted in this case.
“Yes, they intended to break the glass, but the consistent evidence was that they were very surprised that the glass broke that much.”
He also said there was no evidence of any distress caused and added: “The value has to be assessed in the context of the event and one cannot ignore the fact that the income and profits made by Barclays are of an order greater than … it is hard to think of a comparable institution.
“It is not the same as causing that level of damage to a private individual home.”
Cowen, representing herself, said: “Where is the law that prosecutes Barclays for their crimes? I am not questioning the jury’s decision but I do feel they were trapped into making it, trapped by a technicality of the law and the language of those in authority.”
Prosecutor Diana Wilson asked Cowen not to use the courtroom to protest and Judge David Milne told her: “This is your opportunity to tell the court about yourself. You were very eloquent in your trial but we are all bound by the law.”
Cowen replied: “If we are bound by the law then everything on Earth is going to die.”
Her co-defendant Cohen said that she took action to help prevent a climate-induced disaster that would result in “100 holocausts”.
Mr Milne said: “You set about as a group breaking a series of large windows of the front of the bank. You issued fixed notices of the reasoning for so doing and sat down and waited for the police to arrive.
“The consensus of scientific opinion supports your view that the world faces great danger and urgent action is needed. However, the strength of your beliefs has led you to take the law into your own hands.
“Breaking windows is violence. Violence against property but violence nonetheless. You also spoke of the dangers of society breaking down but it is you who chose to break the law.”
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Kathryn Hawkes of House of Hawkes on being a good guest (because we’ve all had bad ones)
- Arrive with a thank you gift, or make sure you have one for your host by the time you leave.
- Offer to buy groceries, cook them a meal or take your hosts out for dinner.
- Help out around the house.
- Entertain yourself so that your hosts don’t feel that they constantly need to.
- Leave no trace of your stay – if you’ve borrowed a book, return it to where you found it.
- Offer to strip the bed before you go.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
JAPAN SQUAD
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Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
