Two Just Stop Oil activists have denied causing criminal damage by spraying orange paint at Heathrow Airport.
Phoebe Plummer, 22, of London and Jane Touil, 58, of Rochdale, each denied an offence of criminal damage when they appeared in custody at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, 31st July 2024.
The pair were arrested yesterday morning, Tuesday, 30th July 2024, having entered Heathrow Airport and discharged fire extinguishers containing orange paint over the fixtures and fittings of Terminal 5.
As mentioned in my earlier article, Plummer is currently subject to bail conditions that prohibit her from possessing paint in a public place. There is also a High Court injunction in force that prohibits Just Stop Oil activists from entering, occupying or remaining on Heathrow Airport property without the prior consent of Heathrow Airport Limited.
District Judge Neeta Minhasat heard that the pair's actions, according to the Crown, resulted in around £50,000 worth of damage.
Plummer and Touil were remanded in custody on the basis that if granted bail there were no conditions the court could impose that would mitigate the risk of them reoffending.
They will next appear at Isleworth Crown Court on Wednesday, 28th August 2024.
You are probably wondering how the pair can deny the offence given the overwhelming video evidence of their actions. I have previously discussed the offence of criminal damage at length. In order for the offence to be made out the Crown must prove that damage was caused either deliberately or recklessly and without lawful excuse.
The defence in this case, in common with most other Just Stop Oil cases, will undoubtedly revolve around the issue of lawful excuse. Just Stop Oil defendants often attempt to justify their actions as emergency action needed to save the planet from impending climate doom. They quite like Crown Court trials because they only need to sell that defence to one or two jurors in order to secure acquittal.
It's a defence that has been rejected by the Court of Appeal, but that doesn't stop it being put forward. You can read more of my thoughts about ideological defences in an earlier article.
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