Co-founder’s sentence reduced in Court of Appeal

Six climate change activists, including the founder of Just Stop Oil (JSO), have had their sentences reduced, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Roger Hallam and 15 other protesters were jailed last year for their roles in four demonstrations held by JSO, including climbing on gantries over the M25 and throwing soup over Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting.

They challenged their sentences at the Court of Appeal, with their lawyers claiming they were “manifestly excessive”.

During the hearing on Friday, about two dozen JSO supporters stood up and turned their backs on the judges while wearing white T-shirts with the words “Corruption in Court”.

In their judgment, the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, Mr Justice Lavender and Mr Justice Griffiths ruled that six of the 16 should have their sentences reduced while dismissing the other appeals.

Hallam was originally jailed for five years for agreeing to disrupt traffic by having protesters climb onto gantries over the M25 for four successive days. His sentence was reduced to four years.