London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 02, 2026

Just Stop Oil protesters fined and held after weekend protests

Just Stop Oil protesters fined and held after weekend protests

Five activists in Essex and Warwickshire face legal action over efforts to disrupt fossil fuel supplies
Five environmental activists were held on remand over the Easter weekend over protests at oil terminals in Essex and Warwickshire.

Three members of the Just Stop Oil campaign held on remand by Warwickshire police were taken to Coventry magistrates court on Monday morning.

Katheryn Dowds, 28, Jake Handling, 27, and Josh Smith, 29, pleaded guilty to aggravated trespass at the Kingsbury oil terminal after their solicitor did not appear to advise them, according to a campaign source.

Dowds was fined £327, and Handling and Smith were fined £150 each. All were then released, only to be immediately rearrested and held again by police for breaching a high court injunction banning protests at the Kingsbury site, Just Stop Oil said.

“It is thought that they will appear tomorrow at Birmingham county court or Coventry in connection with this charge,” the campaign said.

In Essex, James Skeet, 34, and Stephanie Aylett, 27, were being held after denying charges of aggravated trespass and breach of bail conditions in an appearance at Chelmsford magistrates court on Saturday.

“Magistrates heard how both Skeet and Aylett had been arrested multiple times in Essex since the incidents of disruption began in the early hours of 1 April,” the force said in a statement.

Both had been transferred to prison from police custody on Monday, Just Stop Oil said. Their cases were due to be heard on Wednesday.

Just Stop Oil has been staging direct actions, including mass trespasses, tunnelling and blockades, at oil terminals and in locations around the Midlands and the south-east of England since 1 April in an effort to disrupt the supply of fossil fuels. They have vowed to continue until the government agrees to a moratorium on new fossil fuel projects.

On Saturday, Catherine Maclean, of Hurstpierpoint in West Sussex, became the first person to be convicted over involvement in the Just Stop Oil campaign after admitting aggravated trespass at Chelmsford magistrates court.

Just Stop Oil said there had been nearly 1,000 arrests in connection with the campaign so far. Nine more campaign supporters were released without bail after they appeared at Coventry magistrates court on Saturday. Six pleaded not guilty, one pleaded guilty and two entered no plea, according to the campaign.

Valero Energy, the Texas-headquartered company that owns Kingsbury, has obtained a high court injunction banning protest activity at any of its six UK sites. “The order gives a power of arrest outside the terminal and at the junctions of the roads leading into the zone,” Warwickshire police said.

A spokesperson for Just Stop Oil said: “The courts are complicit in supporting a government that is knowingly fuelling climate breakdown and will have the death of millions on its hands.

“Just Stop Oil supporters have acted in line with their consciences. Just as the suffragettes and the freedom riders did they have chosen not to be bystanders in the face of the catastrophic and ongoing injustice of climate breakdown.

“Some politicians and media pundits have called Just Stop Oil’s demand and its supporters naive. But what is truly naive is the ongoing belief by a political and media establishment that young people will just lie down and die without resisting.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Finland Deploys Commercial-Scale Thermal Batteries Using Crushed Rock to Store Renewable Grid Energy
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
Sainsbury Agrees to Sell Argos in £120 Million Deal to Private Consortium
High Court Clears Way for Construction of Chinese Embassy at Royal Mint Court
UK Fuel Prices Climb to Multi-Month Highs as Strait of Hormuz Tensions Disrupt Oil Supplies
Severe Summer Drought and Record Heat Put UK Harvests at Risk
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Faces Labour Backbench Opposition Over Potential Support for New North Sea Oil and Gas Drilling
Bank of England Warns Inflation Will Stay Above 3% as Middle East Energy Shock Prolongs Cost-of-Living Pressures
Andy Burnham has Announces Plans to Redistribute Income Tax Revenue to English Mayors
Early-Release Scheme Faces Fresh Scrutiny as Reoffending and Prison Recalls Rise
Police Phone Checks Followed Report on Murder of MI5 Agent Inside Sinn Féin
Archbishop of Canterbury Reaffirms £100 Million Reparative Justice Fund During Ghana Visit
Charities Allege French Police Used Tear Gas Against Channel Migrants
Norwegian Teenager Convicted Over Iran-Linked Murder Plot in Britain
Christian Organisations File Charity Complaints Against Amnesty International UK
Ofgem Tightens Grid Connection Rules for New Data Centres
FTSE 100 Reaches Record High Despite Global Technology Sell-Off
Millions of UK Households Urged to Check Eligibility for Winter Energy Discount
Labour Restores Parliamentary Whips to Diane Abbott and Joani Reid
UK Supreme Court to Hear Challenge Over Palestine Action Ban
UK Commits More Than £8.4 Billion to Dreadnought Nuclear Submarine Programme
England Declares Severe Drought as Wildfire Burns Near Sizewell Nuclear Site
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75% as Middle East Tensions Fuel Inflation Risks
Drought Status Extended Across All of Wales as Heat and Dry Weather Deepen Environmental Strain
Record-Low Danube Exposes Probable Mammoth Remains in Bulgaria
UK Business Confidence Climbs to Four-Month High
Greater Manchester Gains Expanded Powers Under Regional Funding Reforms
UK Supreme Court to Hear Appeal Over Palestine Action Terror Ban
Shell's Quarterly Profit Doubles to Nearly $10 Billion on Higher Energy Prices
UK Government Removes VAT From Household Electricity Bills
Exceptional Drought Grips Half of England as Wildfire Threatens Sizewell
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75% as Inflation Risks Persist
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
The chief executive of the popular gaming company laid off many employees and his pay rose to 38 million dollars
UK Employment Holds Steady as Wage Growth Remains Moderate
England to Introduce Artificial Intelligence into Secondary School Curriculum
Wales Launches £1.2 Billion Industrial Regeneration Programme
High Court Upholds UK Digital Surveillance Framework
Northern Ireland Reaches Budget Agreement on Infrastructure and Public Sector Pay
Home Office Expands Digital Border Checks Nationwide
UK Approves Major North Sea Wind and Carbon Capture Project
The World's Most Terrifying Smartphone: Recording, Documenting, and Reporting to the Regime
Scotland Approves Major Renewable Energy Expansion
UK and United States Sign AI and Semiconductor Cooperation Pact
UK Treasury Tightens Fiscal Controls After Gilt Market Volatility
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 4.5%
UK Unveils £10 Billion NHS Funding Overhaul and Workforce Reform
The AI User Nightmare: Private Claude Conversations Leaked to the Internet
UK: Former Football Association Leaders Call for World Cup Boycott Over FIFA Privatization Plan
Forbidden Love: China severs millions from their virtual partners
×