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Court hears how protesters breached airport security
Nine Black Lives Matter activists, including a cousin of actor Ralph Fiennes, managed to invade the runway at London City Airport by crossing the River Thames in a motorized inflatable raft from nearby Albert Island.
Westminster Magistrates were told they sailed to the eastern tip of the runway and climbed up some steps from the water.
Once on the runway, they constructed a tripod made of three bamboo poles.
One of the nine, William Pettifer, sat on top of the tripod while the others chained themselves together using metal or plastic tubes filled with expandable foam, meaning they couldn’t separate themselves.
As a result of their protest in the early hours of last Tuesday morning, 131 flights were delayed or cancelled for more than five hours, disrupting around 9,000 passengers.
All nine pleaded guilty to aggravated trespass with intent to obstruct a person engaged in lawful activity.
Other charges of aggravated trespass and an allegation of being unlawfully airside within a restricted area of an aerodrome were dropped by the prosecution.
The group was ordered to pay £95 costs each and the equipment they used has been impounded by the police.
District Judge Elizabeth Roscoe said the protest appeared to have ‘mixed motivations’ as she handed out 18-month conditional discharges to seven of the group, and longer terms for two with previous convictions.
The judge said it was obvious the protesters had ‘deeply-held beliefs’, especially around climate change, but added that she could not see the link to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Among the group was Natalie Fiennes, 25, of Thurleigh Road, Wandsworth, a social justice campaigner and the cousin of actor Ralph Fiennes.
The others were Ben Tippet, 24, also of Thurleigh Road, Wandsworth, Pettifer, 27, of Radford Mill Farm, Radford, Esme Waldron, 23, of Walmer Crescent, Brighton, Sam Lund-Harket, 32, and Alex Etchart, who both live on a houseboat, Sama Bakr, 27, of no fixed address, Deborah Francis-Grayson, 31, of St Mary’s Road, Slough and Richard Collet-White, 23, of Spring Road, Kempston.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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