Six of the seven people who were arrested over the protest at Sunday’s British Grand Prix have been charged, Northamptonshire Police have confirmed.
One further man has been released pending further investigations.A group of protesters from the campaign group Just Stop Oil ran onto the circuit at the exit of the Aintree corner shortly after the original start, which was red-flagged due to Zhou Guanyu’s crash at Copse. The police noted the group had brought glue with them.
Northamptonshire Police said in a statement “David Baldwin, 46, of Stonesfield, Witney, Emily Brocklebank, 24, of, Yeadon, Leeds, Alasdair Gibson, 21, of no fixed abode, Louis McKechnie, 21, of London, Bethany Mogie, 40, of St Albans, Hertfordshire, and Joshua Smith, 28, of Manchester, have all been charged with conspiracy to cause public nuisance.”
“The charges relate to the incident after the red flag when a group of people entered the track during the race in possession of glue,” it added.
The six appeared at Northampton Magistrates’ Court today and all will return to the court in two weeks’ time. All were released on bail bar Smith and McKechnie, who were remanded into custody.
“A 43-year-old man who was also arrested in connection with the incident has been released under investigation pending further inquiries<" the police force added. James Skeet, a spokesperson for Just Stop Oil, told ITV yesterday the protest had successfully drawn attention to “the most critical issue facing humanity.”
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2022 British Grand Prix
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- New rule added on drivers abandoning cars after Russell’s Silverstone retirement
- Hamilton told Leclerc ‘I didn’t want to clip you and send you off’ after Copse scrap
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- Zhou says Silverstone crash force exceeded roll hoop impact test
Jere (@jerejj)
5th July 2022, 18:23
Surprisingly many in the mix are young people.
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
5th July 2022, 18:57
Nah, that kind of naivety often is reserved for the young.
X1Znet (@x1znet)
5th July 2022, 18:29
I can’t help but wonder if the 7th person, the one released without charges pending investigation, might have been trying to stop the others rather than join them.
Lewisham Milton
6th July 2022, 0:48
“A 43-year-old man” – so that’s what Kimi’s up to now. He has previous for race-stopping activities on the Wellington Straight…
Sam
5th July 2022, 20:49
If climate change is half as bad as many scientists predict I suspect people like this will be venerated in future. Yes, I would have been annoyed if the race was red flagged due to them getting on the track (rather than it already having been red flagged due to the crash) and you can certainly question if this is an effective approach to protesting but at least they are trying to bring out change relating to such an important issue.
bosyber (@bosyber)
5th July 2022, 22:30
I support protest to put attention to climate chance, also disruptive ones by now Sam, but wanting to glue oneself to a track where drivers are about to launch themselves with over 150km/h while fighting for position in the first lap(s) of a race seems like an amount of, at best I guess naivete, and at worst acceptance of mortally wounding oneself, drivers, marshals and possibly the audience in the pursuit of that protest. Would it be red-flagged before it got to that point? Well, yes, let’s hope so, but that’s not a guarantee and they were taking that risk. That I really cannot condone as a protest for any cause I don’t think.
mantresx (@mantresx)
5th July 2022, 22:54
Wait, did they really try to glue themselves to the floor?
Next time they should give the marshals a bottle of acetone just in case… crazy!
ThinkingScientist
6th July 2022, 10:20
Or just give the marshalls a cattle prod….
Qeki (@qeki)
5th July 2022, 23:21
Rebels with cause
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
6th July 2022, 23:04
A moral obligation to cause a nusance
Dkor (@dkor)
5th July 2022, 23:34
“Conspiracy to cause a nuisance”
That has to be the most British crime imaginable.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
6th July 2022, 0:58
There’s still a death penalty for mischief.
MacLeod (@macleod)
6th July 2022, 7:54
what your kidding i hope as GB doesn’t have the death penaulty anymore or is there something i don’t know?
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
6th July 2022, 10:18
“Conspiracy to cause a nuisance” Is a very naughty crime! @dkor
I grew up in Britain and I’ve honestly never heard of anyone being charged with ‘conspiracy to cause a nuisance’. I didn’t even think being a nuisance was a crime – let alone only conspiring to be one.
Not to justify what they did, only that it seems odd that that is what they’ve charged with. People in the kitchen when I’m cooking are a nuisance. It’s handy to know I can now have them arrested.
Dkor (@dkor)
6th July 2022, 14:54
(Also British, but have lived in the US for >20 years)
No, I’ve never heard of that either. It really sounds like the police were struggling to find something to charge them with. I assume the protestors had tickets, so they couldn’t be charged with trespassing, and most likely gaining access to the track is more in the territory of a breach of the terms and conditions that are tied to the ticket, which would be a civil matter, not a criminal matter, and the remedy is limited to kicking them out of the venue.
skydiverian (@skydiverian)
8th July 2022, 0:18
@dkor it’s an offence that tends to come up for people arrested in protests.
Public nuisance is the charge as the victim is the general public – fans at the event and people watching at home. It’s used when the victim of a crime isn’t easily defined (such as an individual or business).
As their intent appears to be to glue themselves to the track, thereby wasting the time of everyone in attendance or watching at home, it’s the one to use as the “general public” isn’t a group that can be easily defined in terms of a specific number of victims.
GreenFlag
6th July 2022, 1:08
Pity that hanging, drawing and quartering has been outlawed.
Freak-Sauce
6th July 2022, 1:34
I don’t get it…
If they were successful, we’d have a high chance of an extremely gruesome afternoon at the track. Had they bathed in gasoline and lit a match somewhere in the parking lot, the chances of someone dying would have been about the same (had the race not been red flagged…I dare say Zhou’s hair-raising accident may have saved lives. So… that’s even more lives saved by the halo? :P)
Regardless, yes we are royally destroying this rock, and it is maddening. Protest to your heart’s desire but don’t put yourself and others at SUCH risk, there are definitely more levels to this….
Broke1984 (@broke1984)
6th July 2022, 11:30
Despite sharing some of the convictions of the protesters I really don’t feel sorry for them, going onto a cold circuit and delaying the start is one thing but going onto a live track and putting many people at risk is another.