Sheffield Extinction Rebellion protester set to fight £1,500 fine and conviction over London arrest

The 75-year-old former clinical psychologist was found guilty of wilful obstruction of the highway at City of London Magistrates Court in June 2021, after being arrested near Millbank in London during a protest in October 2019.

She was fined £1,500, having pleaded not guilty.

Now she is fighting the conviction, with her case due to be heard at the Old Bailey on Monday.

Heather said at the time of the protest that she was standing up and acting as a supporter of a group of XR activists who were sitting in the road in Millbank.

She was grabbed from behind by an officer and told she was under arrest. She said she was given no warning, and taken off in a van and detained for 14 hours.

Heather defended herself in her original court case, and believed she should have been given a warning before she was arrested.

She had also claimed that there was no traffic at the time. The protest happened at 8.30am, on St Peters Street in the capital.

Heather, from Heeley, Sheffield, said she had decided to appeal against her conviction after Extinction Rebellion offered to put up a legal team to defend her, meaning she would not have to try to defend herself again.

She said she decided to appeal after receiving the offer of legal support.

She said: “Most of the protesters who were taken to court just pleaded guilty and got a small fine. I thought the police had made a mistake so I pleaded not guilty.

"At the time, when they asked if I wanted to appeal, I said no, as it hit my confidence, and decided to just swallow it.

“But six months later, XR approached us all and said they would provide lawyers to help us. It means I will have a solicitor to lodge the appeal and a barrister to represent me in court.”

Extinction Rebellion held a number of high-profile protests last year to coincide with the UN Climate Change Conference in Scotland.

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