XR LET-OFF
Extinction Rebellion protesters whose print blockade cost millions let off with slap on the wrist
PROSECUTORS let two Extinction Rebellion protesters off with a slap on the wrist — despite a print blockade costing millions.
Will Farbrother, 39, and project manager Eleanor McAree, 26, were said earn a total of £80,000 but CPS lawyers chose not to pursue them for compo.
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Their protest cost small businesses, supermarkets and the printing company millions.
More than 100 protesters blocked print works at Broxbourne, Herts, and Knowsley, near Liverpool, on September 4.
Both sites are run by Newsprinters, owned by The Sun's parent company.
The mob laid siege to the plants, which also print The Times, Telegraph and Daily Mail, claiming they wanted to send a message about global warming.
It left three million readers without their morning papers — on a day Sir David Attenborough wrote about climate change in The Sun.
In all, 51 people were charged with obstructing the highway.
Doctor of astrophysics Janna Goldstein, 26, already admitted the charge and got a conditional discharge yesterday.
Other trials are scheduled to take place between May and July next year.
Civil servant Farbrother, of Walthamstow, East London, chained himself to another protester in a tube filled with cement.
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Project manager McAree, of Brentwood, Essex, was lying under the axle of a van.
Farbrother got a conditional discharge with a £22 victim surcharge, while project manager McAree was fined £500 at St Albans magistrates’ court.
A CPS spokesperson said: “We did not seek compensation from the two defendants convicted yesterday because we did not have a detailed, verified breakdown of the total losses incurred to Newsprinters as a result of the protest. We will keep this case under review as it progresses, as we do with all cases.”
Probe on protests
HOME Secretary Priti Patel has launched a full review of how police manage protests after Extinction Rebellion’s newspaper shutdown.
The probe will identify which extra powers to give police to stop protests.
It will report on how police manage demos and decide if they have the necessary powers and procedures to do so safely.
Herts Police last month failed to stop eco protesters blockading The Sun’s printworks in Broxbourne.
This week 51 XR members face trial for their roles in the demonstration.
Sir David Attenborough warns Extinction Rebellion protesters 'we have to treat people we share our community with with respect'
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