The activists were accused of damaging a "specialist film" on the windows of the MP's office
Three climate protestors who had charges brought against them for posting ‘Stop Tory Coal’ flyers over former Tory MP Mark Jenkinson’s office have been cleared of all charges.
The protestors stuck posters and banners on the former MP for Workington’s office in protest against plans to build a new coal mine in Whitehaven, Cumbria.
Catherine Rennie Nash, 74, Fiona Atkinson, 68, and Margaret Reid, 54, were accused of damaging a “specialist film” on the office’s windows by affixing the posters.
Jenkinson told the court that the repair costs for the windows would have been £3,200, had he not lost his seat in July last year.
However, the magistrate ruled that the three women could not have known that the window was covered with a ‘specialist film’ that the prosecution alleged had been damaged.
Before the election, Jenkinson’s constituency was abolished and its territory was split between Whitehaven and Workington and Penrith and Solway.
Labour’s Josh MacAlister won in Whitehaven and Workington, while Markus Campbell-Savours was elected as the new Labour MP for Penrith and Solway.
Jenkinson was strongly in favour of the new coal mine, which was granted planning permission by the Conservative government in 2021.
However, last year, Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change challenged the coal mine in the High Court and won their cases.
Just Stop Oil activist Rennie Nash said: “Mark Jenkinson promised his constituents a carbon neutral coal mine that would deliver hundreds of jobs for West Cumbria.
“However the High Court ruled that this was legally flawed and the mine will not go ahead. Mark Jenkinson also claimed that in our efforts to draw attention to this misinformation we had caused thousands of pounds’ worth of damage to his office.”
“Today we have been found not guilty and we question why the police and courts wasted so much time in pursuing this.”
Atkinson said: “We call on Cumbria’s new MPs to tell the truth about fossil fuels and support, rather than criminalise, people who are drawing attention to the climate crisis.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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