Drax protestors freed – fifteen people appeared before Leeds Magistrates Court on 22 September following their pre-emptive arrest last summer, amid plans to hold a climate change camp near Drax power station. By the end of the day they walked free as charges were thrown out after their lawyers argued there was insufficient evidence against them.
The BBC news website reported that Nicola Hall, who represented five defendants, said a “significant amount of camping equipment” had also been recovered, “that could be entirely properly utilised within a lawful camp”. She said the prosecution had “failed to bring evidence that these items must be […] and can only have been, carried with an intention to commit the full offence of
locking on, or to be used in connection with that offence”.
According to the left wing publication Novara Media, police spent over £3m and deployed over 1,000 officers from nearly every force in the country in order to arrest 24 climate activists. In August 2024, police swooped on activists planning to hold a mass protest camp near Drax – a power station near Selby North Yorkshire accused of greenwashing.
Police stopped vehicles heading for the camp and made arrests for “public order offences relating to interference with key national infrastructure”. They seized equipment such as compost toilets, wheelchair access ramps and camping equipment. The 15 were accused of having items including climbing ropes, ladders, bolt cutters, glue, gaffer tape and metal poles. All denied a single charge of being equipped to lock on at Leeds Magistrates’ Court in March when they were granted unconditional bail.
The protest camp, organised by campaign group Reclaim the Power, was to involve “six days of workshops, communal living and direct action to crash Drax’s profits”. Following the arrests, the camp was cancelled.
Drax was the UK’s biggest coal fired power station. It transitioned to use what the company claims is “sustainable bioenergy”, but it has been found to burn wood from “old-growth” forests, pumping huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In February, the government extended subsidies for Drax until 2031. It is currently under investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority the City
watchdog over “historical statements” made about the sourcing of wood pellets for its biomass power station and was reported as we reported here.