The UK has the worst housing stock in Europe, leading to thousands of preventable deaths from cold and damp, as well as forcing people to choose between eating and heating.
Four Insulate Britain supporters were acquitted for actions taken during Insulate Britain’s 2021 campaign of nonviolent civil resistance demanding the UK government insulate Britain’s cold and leaky homes.
Emily Brocklebank, Ruth Cook, Ana Heyatawin and Iain Webb were on trial at Woolwich Crown Court before Judge C Grout for common law public nuisance for blocking the M25 at J14 near Heathrow on 27 September 2021.
Judge Grout allowed defendants to speak about the climate crisis in their closing speeches, in contrast to earlier Insulate Britain public nuisance trials under Judge Silas Reid.
They described their motivations for taking action with Insulate Britain, their concerns for their families in the light of expected climate impacts, the poor state of Britain’s housing stock and the need for civil resistance when governments have failed to prepare for what is coming.
Testimony
Ruth Cook, 72, a grandmother and director of a small training company from Somerset spoke about her fears about climate breakdown, her previous experience working for a charity in providing food aid to refugees in Greece, and about the recent flooding across England and Wales.
She questioned what would happen to Woolwich and the surrounding areas when the Thames Barrier is no longer sufficient to protect against rising water levels? Cook arrived late to court because of travel disruption caused by the extensive flooding across England and Wales, including her hometown.
After a six-day trial, the 12-person jury took only an hour to return a unanimous verdict of not guilty.
Following the verdict, Cook said: “I am incredibly proud of what Insulate Britain achieved—taking to the streets day after day, knowing we risked being remanded in custody.
Summoned
“Our aim was to shame the government into addressing the climate crisis by insulating our homes. The UK has the worst housing stock in Europe, leading to thousands of preventable deaths from cold and damp, as well as forcing people to choose between eating and heating,” she added.
In the 23 Insulate Britain jury trials for public nuisance charges to date, four have resulted in a hung jury, three in acquittals, thirteen in a guilty verdict, and three have been deferred. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has applied for retrials in three cases where the jury failed to reach a majority verdict.
In total, the CPS has summoned 56 supporters to answer at least 201 charges of public nuisance across some 45 jury trials, which are scheduled up to June 2025 in Crown Courts across Inner London, Hove, Lewes, Reading and Woolwich.
This Author
Catherine Early is a freelance environmental journalist and chief reporter for The Ecologist. She tweets at @Cat_Early76.
