A judge has thrown out charges against four Greenpeace activists who scaled Rishi Sunak’s home in protest at the expansion of oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
They were arrested after they used ladders and ropes to climb the grade II-listed manor house in Kirby Sigston, near Northallerton in August last year, draping black fabric over the North Yorkshire property.
Amy Rugg-Easey, 33, Alexandra Wilson, 32, Mathieu Soete, 38, and Michael Grant, 64, had been accused of causing criminal damage to 15 roof slates during the five-hour demonstration.
But District Judge Adrian Lower concluded the evidence against the defendants was “so tenuous” that no court would convict them.
He said he would deliver a full ruling on 11 November.
Prosecutors at York Magistrates’ Court said Mr Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty were left with a bill of just under £3,000 for repairs.
But defence lawyer Owen Greenhall argued it could not be proved the roof damage was caused during the protest.
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The trial heard that Malcolm Richardson, a foreman and experienced roofer, was asked to inspect the area of roof where the protestors had been and identified 15 tiles which needed repairing.
During Mr Richardson’s evidence, it was found that three of the 15 pictures used by the prosecution were actually of the same tile taken from different angles, and some had been taken after Mr Richardson had moved the tiles to carry out the repairs in November.
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Mr Greenhall, defending, said there appeared to be cracks to tiles in parts of the roof where the activists had not been and applied for the case to be thrown out.
He told the court: “It’s clear this is a roof where there is pre-existing damage in areas where the protesters did not go”.
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Greenpeace said its demonstration was a response to plans to allow new licences to be granted for further development of North Sea oil and gas off the coast of Scotland.
Outside court, one of the defendants, Michael Grant, said: “Justice and common sense prevailed in court today, but that hasn’t been the case for many activists recently.
“Peaceful protest is a vital part of our democracy.”
He said the activists had targeted Mr Sunak’s home because it was a “personal” decision for him to issue new fossil fuel licences. They also knew the then-prime minister and his family were on holiday at the time of the protest, he added.
