Labour must end criminalisation of climate protesters

Global Witness criticises the UK's crackdown on climate activists, citing the four-year prison sentence of Daniel Shaw and the use of the Public Order Act 2023 and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2022. The organisation highlights that over 7,000 climate protesters have been arrested since 2019 and argues that the fossil fuel industry has influenced the legislation used to muzzle defenders. It calls on the new Labour government to protect the right to peaceful protest.

• The UK has seen a significant increase in the arrest of climate activists, with over 7,000 people arrested since 2019. This includes nearly 900 arrests specifically for "slow marching" since it became an explicit offence last year.
• The Public Order Act 2023 and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2022 are identified as the primary legal mechanisms used to expand police powers and criminalise civil disobedience, including the redefinition of "disruption" as anything causing "more than minor" disturbance.
• The fossil fuel industry has influenced the criminalisation of climate defenders through lobbying and legal action, including a $2.1 million lawsuit by Shell against Greenpeace and the involvement of an oil-funded right-wing lobby group in drafting protest legislation.
• UN Special Rapporteur Michel Forst has described the UK's crackdown on peaceful protest as the most significant since the 1930s, noting that the UK has failed to provide substantive responses to several complaints regarding the treatment of climate defenders.

APA

Global Witness (2024). Labour must end criminalisation of climate protesters. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/labour-must-end-criminalisation-of-climate-protesters/

Chicago

Global Witness. Labour must end criminalisation of climate protesters. 2024. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/labour-must-end-criminalisation-of-climate-protesters/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Global Witness |title=Labour must end criminalisation of climate protesters |date=18 July 2024 |url=https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/labour-must-end-criminalisation-of-climate-protesters/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{globalwitness2024labour, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{Labour must end criminalisation of climate protesters}}, publisher = {Global Witness}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/labour-must-end-criminalisation-of-climate-protesters/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }