Climate protesters cleared over rush-hour disruption

Three activists who targeted London’s public transport network to raise the alarm about the escalating climate crisis have been acquitted by a jury.

The three Extinction Rebellion campaigners disrupted rush-hour services for more than an hour in east London in 2019, with two of them climbing on top of the train.

The three defendants – Rev Sue Parfitt, 79, Father Martin Newell, 54 (pictured below), and Philip Kingston, 85 – said they had been motivated by their Christian faith.

The verdict is the latest in which UK juries have acquitted protesters, including the Colston four in Bristol this month.