Mine opponents cleared over protest at MP's office

Three climate protestors who targeted an MP's office as they campaigned against plans for a new coal mine have been cleared of causing criminal damage.

Just Stop Oil supporters Catherine Nash, Fiona Atkinson and Margaret Reid stuck posters and banners over the office of Conservative MP Mark Jenkinson, in Maryport, Cumbria, last April, but said they did not intend to damage the property.

Mr Jenkinson told Carlisle Magistrates' Court he would have faced a £3,000 clean-up bill had he not lost his seat in last summer's general election.

Judge Tanweer Ikram ruled the prosecution failed to show the women, all from Kendal, could have foreseen causing any damage.

The mine in Whitehaven was set to be the country's first new one for more than 30 years, with approval having been granted by the then-Conservative government in 2022.

Permission was eventually quashed last September after a legal challenge.

The magistrates' court heard the women turned up at Mr Jenkinson's office on Maryport's Senhouse Street at 08:00 BST on 26 April.

A police officer was later called and believed the protesters to be peaceful.

Prosecutor Peter Kelly told the court the defendants should have known their actions could have caused damage to the window, which had a protective film on it to prevent shattering.

Ms Atkinson said she was "delighted" by the verdict and called on "MPs everywhere to tell the truth about fossil fuels".

"We went to the office of Mark Jenkinson in order to call out the horrors of coal mining," she told the BBC.

"I'm a mother and a grandmother. I will do whatever I can to protect people everywhere from the horrors of fossil fuels.

"By continuing to burn fossil fuels or even think about opening mines, all we are doing is bringing about our own end."

Mr Jenkinson, who represented the constituency of Workington, was among supporters of the mine who argued it would bring economic benefits to west Cumbria, such as well-paid jobs and business for the local supply chain.

However, in his High Court judgement in September, Mr Justice Holgate said the assumption the mine would not produce a net increase in greenhouse gas emissions was "legally flawed".

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