I will continue to fight against the death sentence of fossil fuels for as long as I have strength in me.
A family doctor has been sentenced to one year in prison for taking action with Just Stop Oil.
Dr Patrick Hart took action in August 2022 to demand an end to new licences and consents for oil and gas projects in the UK, something which has subsequently become government policy.
Hart appeared before Judge Mills at Chelmsford Crown Court today after being found guilty in October 2024 of criminal damage, after disabling petrol pumps at Esso Thurrock Services on the M25 on the 24th August 2022.
Injunction
Esso is a subsidiary of the Oil giant Exxon Mobil which infamously concealed the alarming findings of its own scientists, which showed that fossil fuels caused global warming.
Exxon subsequently ploughed millions into a disinformation campaign which initially sewed doubt and later confusion around the emerging climate science.
In his closing statement at Chelmsford Crown Court during his trial, Dr Hart said: “I disrupted people as an act of care.
"I damaged the petrol pump screens as an act of care, because in times of great peril, a caring person has to stand up for what is right.
"My actions have already cost me greatly. I have been handed a suspended prison sentence, and thousands of pounds in costs through a civil injunction for this exact same action. I have been penalised at work and stand to be suspended or lose my licence to practise as a doctor.
Protest
"But I regret nothing. Because to not do it, would have been to give up on caring, and that would be worse. In the face of the permanent collapse of our climate, our economy, our society and life on Earth, the only thing that keeps me going is our continued capacity as people to care, regardless of what happens.
"Yes, I fear prison, but I am ready to go if I must.”
Dr Hart has already faced civil charges for this action and been fined, as the Thurrock Esso petrol station is subject to a private injunction.
He will also face a tribunal after being referred for a disciplinary hearing at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) by his professional regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC). As such Dr. Hart stands to be penalised three times for the same action.
In the last 12 months, the GMC has referred two doctors who were then removed from the medical register by the MPTS following their convictions for non-violent climate protest.
Pumps
Before sentencing Dr Hart said: “Right now, the greatest health threat to all of us is the unfolding climate catastrophe. It is the greatest health threat we have ever faced. All healthcare workers have a responsibility to protect the health of their patients.
"If we do not stand up to the oil and gas executives who are wreaking havoc on our climate and the politicians who enable them, if we do not end the burning of fossil fuels, then we will have failed as a profession and the health systems that we have developed over centuries will collapse.
"I will continue to fight against the death sentence of fossil fuels for as long as I have strength in me. I have no greater duty as a doctor at this moment in history.”
Today’s sentencing comes after a jury found three Just Stop Oil supporters ‘not guilty’ in June of 2024, for disabling petrol pumps in the same manner as Dr Hart.
Just Stop Oil will be stepping into action again in 2025. To join a talk or sign up for action register at juststopoil.org.
This Author
Brendan Montague is editor of The Ecologist. This article is based on a press release from Just Stop OIl.
