Just Stop Oil activists wait for appeal over Formula 1 British GP track invasion in 2022

Five Just Stop Oil activists who protested at the British Grand Prix in 2022 will have to wait to see if they have been successful in challenging their convictions at the Court of Appeal.

The activists were found guilty at Northampton Crown Court last year of risking "serious harm" to drivers and race marshals during a track invasion.

At an appeal hearing on Wednesday, the group's lawyers argued the convictions of Alasdair Gibson and Louis McKechnie, both 23, David Baldwin, 48, Emily Brocklebank, 26, and 30-year-old Joshua Smith were "unsafe".

Lord Justice Holroyde said the judges would give their written ruling at a later date.

Jurors at Northampton Crown Court convicted the group in February last year after being shown footage of some sitting on and being dragged off the circuit at Silverstone as two Formula One cars passed close by.

The activists all denied causing a public nuisance at the July 2022 race in Northamptonshire, claiming the protest had followed a "meticulous" safety plan.

Prosecutors argued the protesters had clearly caused an immediate risk of serious harm to drivers and race marshals by sitting "in the face" of fast-moving vehicles.

The court was told that the protest action was designed to draw media attention to Just Stop Oil’s call for the government to halt new fossil fuel extraction licences.

Lord Justice Holroyde said judges need to reflect on legal arguments, adding that the cases took the court into “new territory” over the interpretation of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.

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