In emergency, break glass: Are UK climate activists being stripped of their last legal defence?
UK climate protesters charged with criminal damage could have their last legal defence removed if the government gets its way in a significant court case this week. Attorney general Victoria Prentis KC, who represents the government, has asked the Court of Appeal to review whether activists can continue using a defence known as ‘belief in consent’. Some campaigners on trial have successfully argued that a property owner wouldn’t mind the damage caused to their building in a nonviolent action, if they were aware of the full extent of the climate crisis. Five women charged with criminal damage a...