Five anti-fracking protesters, including Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, have been found not guilty of all charges at Brighton Magistrates' Court.
The group faced charges of failing to comply with conditions imposed on an assembly under Section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 and Obstruction of the Highway. As well as finding that the defendants were not aware of the Section14 Conditions, the judge went on to make findings that the Section 14 order itself was invalid.
Greenpeace executive director John Sauven stated that the not guilty ruling was "a victory for the right to peaceful protest but more importantly for Britain's growing movement of ordinary people opposing fracking".
The case has attracted national media coverage including by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, the Guardian, The Independent andThe Telegraph. The judgment is available here.
Caroline Lucas and Ruth Potts were represented by Tom Wainwright. Sheila Menon and Ruth Jarman were represented by Owen Greenhall. Joseph Dobrasczyk was represented by Shahida Begum. All are members of the Garden Court Crime Team. They were instructed by Lydia Dagostino of Kellys Solicitors.
