Roger Hallam Gets Suspended Sentence for Heathrow Stunt
Extinction Rebellion founder avoids jail for flying drones near airport
Roger Hallam with a toy drone. Picture: Just Stop Oil
April 12, 2024
An environmental activist who attempted to disrupt flights at Heathrow airport using toy drones has avoided a jail sentence.
57-year-old Roger Hallam, who lives in the Putney area and is the co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, was found guilty of conspiring to cause a public nuisance between 1 August and 14 September 2019, along with Dr Larch Maxey and Michael Lynch-White.
The trio were given suspended sentences at Isleworth Crown Court last Friday (5 April) after they have been convicted at the end of a four-week trial. Hallam and Maxey were each sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for 18 months and Lynch-White was handed a 17-month sentence, suspended for 18 months. They will also be required to carry out hundreds of hours of community service.
The protest was meant to shut down the airport and generate publicity on social media to highlight Mr Hallam’s view that a third runway at Heathrow would be ‘a crime against humanity’.
The court was told during the trial that the stunt required an extra £1million to be spent on extra shifts for police officers to protect the airport which has a 5km exclusion zone in which drones are banned.
The judge accepted the defendants claim to be non-violent protestors but said they were ‘naïve’ about the risks their actions presented.
Hallam said in a statement after the guilty verdict, “Humankind is heading for indescribable suffering if we continue to put carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Thousands of people need to create mass economic disruption and go to prison in order to force governments to protect their people and enact legislation that will rapidly reduce carbon emissions.”
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