Legal action cannot be taken against protester for contempt, High Court rules

Trudi Warner court case

A High Court judge has refused permission for legal action to be taken against a protester for contempt of court, after she was accused of “deliberately targeting” jurors by holding up a sign outside a court ahead of a trial of climate activists.

Trudi Warner was arrested on March 27 last year for holding up a placard outside an entrance used by jurors at Inner London Crown Court before a trial involving members of the climate group Insulate Britain.

The sign read: “Jurors you have an absolute right to acquit a defendant according to your conscience.”

In a hearing last Thursday, lawyers for the Solicitor General Robert Courts, a senior government legal officer, asked the High Court for the green light to proceed with action against Ms Warner for contempt of court due to her “serious interference” with the “administration of justice”.

Barristers for Ms Warner, a retired social worker from Walthamstow, east London, argued her actions do not constitute an offence and that it is not in the public interest to take legal action against her.

Mr Justice Saini said he does not give the solicitor general permission to pursue proceedings against Ms Warner, as he delivered his judgment at the Royal Courts of Justice on Monday.

In written submissions, Aidan Eardley KC, representing the Government, said Ms Warner “deliberately targeted” jurors and encouraged them to “approach their task in a particular way”.

Ms Warner’s barristers told the court at the hearing last week that she acted as a “human billboard” to advertise a “vital constitutional, if occasionally used, safeguard against unjust prosecutions”.

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