Three Just Stop Oil supporters were found not guilty of public nuisance at Guildford Crown Court today, after peacefully climbing gantries on the M25 in 2022, to demand an end to new fossil fuel projects.

Sam Holland, Rachel Payne and Isabel Rock took action on the M25 on 9th November 2022. They were among scores of Just Stop Oil supporters, who climbed on gantries that week in order to sound the alarm about the government’s plan to licence over 100 new oil and gas projects against all expert advice.

After a 5 day trial, the three were found not guilty of intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance by a unanimous verdict.

During the trial the prosecution emphasised that this was a planned and coordinated action that resulted in significant delays to the travelling public, that all three defendants were trespassing in a place that was forbidden to the public and that they had taken considerable risks with public safety. Giving evidence National Highways Ltd claimed that traffic was delayed by between 4 and 5 hours and that between 9,000 and 30,000 vehicles were impacted. None of the defendants denied the indictment, but they argued that they had a reasonable excuse for their actions.

Sam Holland argued that he had wanted to prevent harm. He had read academic papers which pointed to catastrophic consequences for humanity from burning fossil fuels, including food system collapse.

Rachel Payne explained that she took action because she was fearful for her children and grandchildren about government inaction on the climate crisis. She highlighted the government breaking its 2015 climate agreements by offering new fossil fuel licences.

Isabel Rock said that she felt a duty to look after people younger than herself and that the climate crisis is going to touch every single part of their lives. Taking action was something she weighed up very seriously and that as a self employed person, she knew how hard it was for people to earn money and to get by. However she felt that if they could see some of these agreed facts about the seriousness of the climate crisis, she hoped they would understand.

The Judge, Recorder L Harris, ruled that it was for the jury to decide whether or not the supporters had a reasonable excuse for their actions.

In their closing speeches, all the defendants were able to refer to the agreed facts in the case, which included several key facts relating to the climate crisis.

In his closing speech, Sam Holland said:

“We brought evidence on the largest evil committed in human history: the continued drilling and burning of oil and gas in full knowledge that large parts of humanity will be killed. The prosecution has said that these are beliefs. They are not beliefs. This is not a cause. This is not another ‘issue’. This is billions of deaths. Not according to me, according to the world’s leading scientists. These are the facts. If we hit 3C of warming by 2050, there could be four billion human deaths. Half of the world’s current population.

“What was the UK government doing? It was issuing over 100 new licences for companies to explore and drill oil and gas in the North Sea. In the knowledge of everything I’ve just said, which is public knowledge and has been known for decades, the government was still wanting to drill. Unimaginable evil. We all talked about how we had extensively tried other methods for making change. Signing petitions, emailing MPs, going on conventional marches… So we had to turn to disruptive action.’

“It is causing disruption that pressures the government to act – civil disobedience works by the very fact that it is disruptive. I feel an overwhelming sense of responsibility to do everything I can to stop this from happening. Once you learn about this stuff you can’t unlearn it. We have a very narrow window of time now to change the course of history. This is what I have tried to do by taking this action.”

Following the verdict, Rachel Payne said:

“I thank the members of the Jury deeply for their ‘common sense’ verdict — they were actually permitted to hear the several climate related agreed facts, which were read out to them, about the severe threats the present emergency poses to our world and they listened!

I thank the prosecution for agreeing to those facts following earlier trials I attended in which the ‘whole truth’ was repeatedly denied to the Jury. I thank the Judge for allowing them to decide that we “more likely than not” had a reasonable excuse for what we did.

In my statement to the police, I urgently expressed my fears for my family and world and my hopes for an ‘eco-U- turn’. With this acquittal, I feel this may be closer to being made possible. The tide may well be turning if the agreed facts on climate, allowed in this trial, can become widely known and acted upon internationally.”

In 2024 Just Stop Oil successfully won its original demand of ‘no new oil and gas’ and on March 27th 2025 announced an end to the campaign of action. However, our supporters will continue to tell the truth in court, to speak out for our political prisoners and to help build what comes next.