Court hearing for Northampton's Extinction Rebellion Barclarycard protesters postponed

Six Extinction Rebellion protesters who were arrested after fake oil was sprayed over the entryway of the Barclaycards offices in Northampton appeared at court today.

They are charged with criminal damage following the protest at the Brackmills headquarters on February 26 this year.

The protest group were set for a preliminary hearing at Northampton Magistrate's Court today (October 22).

However, the group's hearing has been postponed to unspecified future date for 'further case management'.

It is understood the six defendants intend to enter a 'not guilty' plea, following on from how Extinction Rebellion's founder Roger Hallam was found not guilty by a jury in 2019

Mr Hallam was cleared of all charges in May 2019 after spray painting "divest from oil and gas" on a wall in Kings College London.

He did not deny criminal damage worth £7,000, but argued their actions were a proportionate response to the climate crisis.

The court charges against the six protesters did not list what the value of the damage to the sign at Barclaycard amounted to.

The six defendants are: Martyn Lyman, 30, Chalcombe Avenue, Northampton; Alan David Heath, 57, Nelson Street, Kettering; Linda Davidsen, 50, High Street, Upton; Dave Lane, 55, Kingsley Avenue, Kettering; Luke Adams, 24, Monks Park Road, Northampton; Daniel Shaw, 34, Adams Avenue, Northampton.

Ahead of the hearing, one of the defendants Alan Heath, from Kettering, said: “I’ll be pleading not guilty. Barclays is a massive investor in fossil fuels. The house is on fire. There’s an ecological crisis.

“It’s our duty to protect people - ourselves and other people."

In the incident in February, police were called after the protestors sprayed black dye - symbolizing oil - over the entryway sign at Barclaycard in Pavilion Drive. The defendants then sat down and played cards until police arrived.