Greta Thunberg has pleaded not guilty to breaching a public order act after blocking the entrance to a hotel hosting a conference described by activists as the “Oscars of oil”.
The 20-year-old Swedish climate campaigner took part in a protest last month outside the venue of the Energy Intelligence Forum, blocking the entrance to the hotel where it was taking place and shouting: “Oily money out!” She was charged under section 14 of the Public Order Act, which carries a maximum £2,500 fine.
Thunberg and the other protesters were supported by Greenpeace campaigners on Wednesday who held banners outside Westminster magistrates court in central London, where she entered her plea.
She was one of 29 arrested during the protest, which aimed to stop delegates entering the InterContinental London Park Lane in Mayfair. Thunberg and dozens of demonstrators had locked arms to obstruct the entrances of the hotel.
Thunberg was arrested after police attempted to move protesters from the road on to the pavement. Video footage showed her being bundled into a police van. She has also been arrested or removed from protests in Sweden, Norway and Germany.
The protest was organised by Fossil Free London and supported by environmental groups including Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion.
Activists have claimed credit for the Shell chief executive, Wael Sawan, delivering a keynote speech to the conference via video link rather than in person.
Maja Darlington, a campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said: “Our activists joined the demonstration to send a clear and peaceful message to the oil bosses attending the conference: big oil must pay for the damage they are causing to our planet and those who inhabit it. The arrests of Greta and other peaceful protesters are yet another example of this government’s disturbing crackdown on peaceful protest, which is a core right in any free and functioning democratic society.
“People are sick of watching their leaders throw their weight behind their chums in the fossil fuel industry while bills continue to rise and ever more extreme weather wreaks havoc the world over. Instead of arresting those standing up to the fossil fuel industry, the UK government should make polluters pay for the millions losing lives and livelihoods for the profit margins of the fossil fuel industry.”
The UK government and police have increasingly been cracking down on climate protesters. New laws in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 gave the state more powers to criminalise activism, including an ability for the police to ban non-violent protests thought to be too noisy or disruptive.
Penalties for obstructing the highway, which is a key tactic of environmental protest groups, have been increased to potentially unlimited fines and six-month prison sentences, even if police have already closed the road.
