Press release: 23 July 2024 1200 cultural icons condemn ‘insane’ prison terms for Whole Truth Five

More than 1,200 of the country’s leading cultural figures have united to condemn the imprisonment of the Whole Truth Five (WTF) – 5 people who received the highest sentences ever for nonviolent protest in the UK last week – as ‘one of the greatest injustices in a British court in modern history’, piling mounting pressure on the government to intervene in the case.

Signatories to the open letter, published today in The Times [1], include the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, the Government’s former Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir David King, Chris Packham, Bianca Jagger, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, Annie Lennox, Juliet Stevenson, Harriet Walter, Frankie Boyle, Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC, one of the country’s most distinguished human rights lawyers, Ben Okri, Steve Coogan, Jarvis Cocker, Sandi Toksvig, Natasha Lyonne, Peter Gabriel, Caroline Lucas, Danny Boyle, Tracy Emin, Stella Assange and Michael Mansfield KC. 

The five were jailed last week for a total of 21 years, after Judge Hehir banned them from producing evidence of the climate crisis on the basis it was ‘inadmissible opinion and belief’ and removed all available legal defences from them. The jury found them guilty of planning to disrupt the M25 to demand an end to the previous government’s plans to ‘max out’ on oil and gas. The Judge jailed Roger Hallam (57, from Wales) for 5 years imprisonment; Daniel Shaw (38, from Northampton), Lucia Whittaker De Abreu (34, from Derby), Louise Lancaster (58, from Cambridge) and Cressida Gethin (22, from Hereford) for 4 years [2].

Writing to the Attorney General, Richard Hemer KC, the 1200 say [3]:

“These sentences were handed down just days after the new government’s policy of no new licensing for oil and gas infrastructure was announced. In a world of sound, evidence-based governance, none of this needed to happen. With prisons at breaking point and the new government acting urgently to address this, how can these sentences be seen as anything other than insanity? The sentences, ranging from 4 to 5 years, are higher than those given to many who commit serious sexual assault …

The world stands at a crossroads and so does our democracy. We write in support of Chris Packham and Dale Vince’s request for an urgent meeting with you, to be recorded so it is transparent to the public, to discuss the jailing of all truth tellers and their silencing in court.”

The United Nations, which prior to sentencing had referred to the prospect of 2 year prison sentences for nonviolent protestors as ‘appalling’, has described the sentences of 4 and 5 years imprisonment as ‘not acceptable in a democracy.’ [4]

On Friday, naturalist and TV broadcaster Chris Packham, and Dale Vince, Green Industrialist and Labour Party donor, wrote a joint call for a meeting with the Attorney General in the Guardian, saying [5]:

“This cannot go on. What’s happening is shameful and unlawful …

That is why we are calling for an urgent meeting with [the Attorney General], to be recorded so it is transparent to the public, to discuss not just Cressie’s case, but the jailing of all our truth tellers and their silencing in court.”

The letter from the 1200 supports their call.

Writer, comedian and broadcaster, Sandi Toksvig OBE, one of the signatories to the letter said:

“This is the sort of draconian and unjust sentence which we like to think happens in the past or in other countries whose present day governing we disparage but it’s happening right here and right now. “

Former Archbishop of Canterbury and signatory to the letter, Dr Rowan Williams, said:

“Many of us who signed this letter will disagree more or less strongly with the tactics of JSO, but are deeply worried by the disproportionate nature of these sentences. Is it right that this kind of protest should be treated as more dangerous than a good many more dramatic offences against persons and property? It is of real importance that our new government engages urgently with these concerns.”

The Attorney General has yet to comment publicly on whether he will agree to the meeting.

Contact: For further info: Howard – 07459055152

Notes for editors

[1] “Stars take attorney-general to task over Just Stop Oil jail terms”, The Times

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/law/article/stars-take-attorney-general-to-task-over-just-stop-oil-jail-terms-tk3rdkbx6

[2] Just Stop Oil Protestors Receive Harshest Jail Terms Yet in Case that ‘May Violate Human Rights Law’ (Byline Times) https://bylinetimes.com/2024/07/18/just-stop-oil-sentencing-m25/

[3] Text of the open letter in full: http://defendourjuries.org/wtf

[4] ‘Not acceptable in a democracy’: UN expert condemns lengthy Just Stop Oil sentences https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/19/not-acceptable-un-expert-condemns-sentences-given-to-just-stop-oil-activists

[5] “You may find Just Stop Oil annoying. You may dislike their tactics. But they do not belong in prison” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/19/just-stop-oil-tactics-prison-chris-packham