A former councillor has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for his role in a Just Stop Oil protest.
Michael Dunk was elected to represent the Green Party in the Frome West division of Somerset in May 2022.
Southwark Crown Court was told Dunk climbed gantries on the M25 on 8 November 2022, to demand an end to new fossil fuel projects. Police had to close the motorway as a result of the action.
Under government rules elected councillors are not allowed to remain in office if they have been convicted of a crime with a sentence of three months or more. A by-election to replace Dunk will be held in the new year.
The court was told six campaigners joined other Just Stop Oil protesters in a series of protests on the M25 over a four day period in 2022.
On 2 October, a jury convicted all six of “intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance”.
At Southwark Crown Court on Friday, Dunk was sentenced by Judge Perrins to 26 months imprisonment and ordered to pay £4,380 in costs.
In his sentencing remarks Judge Perrins said the protest affected people who were “trying to go about their daily lives”.
He said he was satisfied not one of the defendants “took seriously the impact they had caused” but noted they had “acted on their conscience”.
In a statement posted on the Frome Area Green Party Facebook page, Dunk said the protest was “not an action I took lightly”.
He added: “Any reasonable person would want to prevent extreme global warming in order to protect future generations and allow them to have a future.
“The safety of the travelling public was my first consideration.”
Ashley Fox, the Conservative MP for Bridgwater, said he welcomed the “tough sentences” that have “brought an end to the recent motorway protests”.
He added: “I have always defended the right to peaceful protest, but deliberately causing chaos on major roads, stopping people from reaching weddings, funerals, job interviews and hospital appointments is not lawful and never should be.”
Somerset Council leader, Liberal Democrat Councillor Bill Revans said: “Mick absolutely broke the law on a Just Stop Oil protest, disrupting the lives of many. There certainly needs to be proportional consequences for law-breaking.
“However, a custodial sentence of over two years for a respected, sincere and kind man is appalling,” he added.
