Reverend Tim Hewes, 73, a retired dentist and Church of England priest from Wantage, was found not guilty of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance on Wednesday, March 19, following a four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court.
Along with seven others, he was accused of criminal conspiracy in relation to the 2022 climate action protests that blocked the M25, demanding an end to new oil and gas deals in the UK.
Revd Hewes gained national attention for his protest stunts, such as sewing his mouth shut outside the News Corp offices in 2021 and gluing himself to furniture outside City of London Magistrates’ Court. He was arrested at his home on November 6, 2022.
After spending six weeks in detention, Revd Hewes was required to wear a GPS electronic monitoring tag on his ankle for 14 months as part of his bail conditions, even while leading church services.
When the tag was removed in February last year, Revd Hewes expressed his views on the climate crisis: “It’s hardly surprising that people in nonviolent civil resistance are becoming increasingly active.”
“Daily we are reminded of the developing climate catastrophe which will result in the breakdown of law and order. This is a truly horrifying prospect for which I will do everything I possibly can to avoid my grandchildren experiencing.”
Extensive police and prosecution resources have been dedicated to the trial since the protest in 2022. Items such as an umbrella, party poppers, duct tape, string, an Extinction Rebellion-branded vest, and a screwdriver were seized from Revd Hewes’ home to support a case of a pre-planned agreement to block the M25.
Fellow Just Stop Oil supporters Ian Bates, 65, from Northampton, and Abigail Percy-Ratcliffe, 25, from Brighton, were found guilty and are awaiting sentencing on May 9.
During the closing speech to the jury, Mr Bates highlighted the longstanding nature of the climate crisis: “The climate crisis has been growing for 200 years. Oil companies knew in the 70s but buried it to maintain their huge profits, using top PR companies.”
“It’s a small but hugely significant example of the culture we find ourselves living in—a culture which puts profit before people. This trial is all about what we are doing about this existential threat – a threat to existing.”
The crown prosecution acknowledged during the trial that climate change is an “existential threat” to humanity, posing “catastrophic” risks to the population.
Just Stop Oil is a direct action group demanding an emergency plan to cease oil and gas usage by 2030, aiming to prevent 3°C of warming, as we have already reached 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
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