A letter from the Crown Prosecution Service to lawyers for Greenpeace reveals that the Attorney-General is close to referring the case of the Kingsnorth Six to the Court of Appeal in an effort to remove the defence of ‘lawful excuse' from activists.

The Kingsnorth Six faced a charge of criminal damage at Maidstone crown court in September. A year earlier the Greenpeace volunteers had entered Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in Kent before scaling the chimney, closing the station and painting Gordon Brown's name down the smokestack.

In court they argued their actions were lawful because they were acting to protect property around the world from climate change, and could therefore rely on section 36 of the Criminal Damage Act, which provides for a ‘lawful excuse' to damage property in narrowly defined circumstances. The jury decided their actions were justified in the light of the huge and imminent threat posed by climate change and the enormous CO2 emissions from Kingsnorth power station.

On Sunday the New York Times included the Kingsnorth defence in its annual list of the most influential ideas that will change our lives. Under the heading ‘Climate-Change Defense, The' the newspaper said the verdict ‘shook up the world of green politics'.

Now the government is seeking to establish a precedent preventing juries considering the ‘Kingsnorth defence' for activists who face charges related to preventing emissions from entering the atmosphere in the course of non-violent direct action.

Ben Stewart, one of the Kingsnorth Six, said: "Ministers have failed to grasp the point about our case. After the acquittal they should have started dismantling plans for new coal-fired power stations instead of dismantling the jury system. Those twelve men and women sat through six days of evidence from international experts, and concluded we were justified in shutting down a coal plant because of the huge damage they do to our world. Now the government wants to shoot the messenger."

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said: "This decision is typical of this government. When they're found to be in the wrong, they shift the goal-posts instead of facing up to their mistakes. The Kingsnorth decision was a landmark case that proves the severity of the threat we all face from dangerous climate change, but it's clear the government hasn't learnt that lesson. It's now clear that this Labour government is simply not serious about tackling climate change. Ministers should immediately end all plans for dirty coal power stations. It is ludicrous that instead they are focusing their attention on reducing the freedom of protesters and jurors."

At the original trial the jury heard from Professor Hansen that ‘every tonne of carbon counts'. The jury heard that the activists had climbed a 220m ladder, each carrying 50kg of kit, and had prevented 20,000 tonnes of CO2 entering the atmosphere - the same amount as the 30 least polluting countries in the world combined.

Using figures from the government's own Stern Review, where the cost to property done by carbon dioxide is put at £50 a tonne, the court was told that the protest prevented £1m of property damage. The jury was also told that the government has advanced plans to build a new coal-fired power station next to the existing site on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent.

As the world's leading climate scientist, Hansen spoke authoritatively about the unique significance of coal in the climate crisis, and called for new coal plants to be built only if they capture and bury their emissions.

Dr Mark Avery, Conservation Director of the RSPB said: "Climate protesters must face the consequences of their actions in court, but what is wrong with letting juries decide? Governments who don't trust juries don't trust the electorate. Watch out on Saturday, this government may intervene if you vote the wrong way in Strictly Come Dancing!"

Zac Goldsmith, prospective Conservative parliamentary candidate and a witness in Maidstone, said: "I gave evidence at the original trial about how our democracy is failing to respond to the climate crisis, and how there's a growing disconnect between voters and politicians on the issue. I never thought my point would be proven in such dramatic style with the government trying to remove the rights of jurors to decide what's right and wrong on global warming. The English judge, Lord Devlin famously said, ‘Every jury is a little Parliament,' and on climate change the verdict is in. Our jury system stretches back centuries, and it would be a tragedy if this government's authoritarian streak undermines it."

Ben Stewart of the Kingsnorth Six added: "Ed Miliband has called for a people-led movement on global warming, but this government doesn't trust normal people who sit on juries to decide what's right and wrong on climate change. Ministers have set up citizens juries across the country on every issue under the sun, but when a real jury says something they don't like on the greatest issue of our day, they move to shut them down. It's pretty sinister."

A final decision by the Attorney-General is expected in weeks. Any subsequent hearing at the Court of Appeal would follow in the spring.

ENDS

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Ministers suffered a blow to their energy plans today as six Greenpeace volunteers were acquitted of criminal damage by a Crown Court jury in a case that centred on the contribution made to climate change by burning coal.

The charges arose after the six attempted to shut down the Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in Kent last year by scaling the chimney and painting the Prime Minister's name down the side. The defendants pleaded ‘not guilty' and relied in court on the defence of ‘lawful excuse' - claiming they shut the power station in order to defend property of a greater value from the global impact of climate change.

Today's acquittal is a potent challenge to the Government's plans for new coal-fired power stations from jurors representing ordinary people in Britain who, after hearing the evidence, supported the right to take direct action in order to protect the climate.

Over five days of evidence Maidstone Crown Court heard testimony from the world's leading climate scientist, an Inuit leader from Greenland and David Cameron's environment adviser. The jury was told that Kingsnorth emits 20,000 tonnes of CO2 every day - the same amount as the 30 least polluting countries in the world combined - and that the Government has advanced plans to build a new coal-fired power station next to the existing site on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent.

The ‘not guilty' verdict means the jury believed that shutting down the coal plant was justified in the context of the damage to property caused around the world by CO2 emissions from Kingsnorth.

One of the Kingsnorth 6, Emily Hall, said after her acquittal:

"This is a huge blow for the Government's plans to build new coal-fired power stations. It's coal that should have been on trial, not us. After this verdict, the only people left in Britain who think new coal is a good idea are business secretary John Hutton and the energy minister Malcolm Wicks. It's time the Prime Minister stepped in, showed some leadership, and embraced a clean energy future for Britain."

Another of the defendants, Ben Stewart, added:

"This verdict marks a tipping point for the climate change movement. If jurors from the heart of Middle England say it's legitimate for a direct action group to shut down a coal-fired power station because of the harm it does to our planet, then where does that leave government energy policy? We have the clean technologies at hand to power our economy, it's time we turned to them instead of coal."