Crown Prosecution Service drops prosecutions against Extinction Rebellion protesters
Public Law and Judicial Review
The Crown Prosecution Service has announced that prosecutions against a number of Extinction Rebellion protesters who were arrested under an unlawful protest ban are to be dropped.
Of the 105 cases dropped, 73 people had been charged with breaching section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986, 24 had been charged with the same offence plus highway obstruction, and eight were accused of stand-alone highway obstruction.
A group of barristers from the Cornerstone Public Law Team have been advising Extinction Rebellion, pro bono, on the impact of the protest ban being declared unlawful.
We advised on the impact both on ongoing criminal prosecutions and on the potential for civil claims arising from protesters being arrested and from people being deterred from protesting.