BBC News
Published
image copyrightKristian Buus/Getty Images
image captionThe Stansted 15 tried to stop an aircraft being used to deport people to Africa (one of the 15 did not make the photo call in time)
Protesters who broke into Stansted Airport to stop a plane deporting people to Africa have won an appeal against their convictions.
The group, known as the Stansted 15, cut through the perimeter fence and locked themselves together around a Boeing 767 jet in 2017.
The Lord Chief Justice said they should not have been prosecuted for the extremely serious offence .
A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: We will consider the judgment carefully in the next 28 days.
A GROUP of protestors taken to court after preventing a deportation flight from taking off at Stansted have had their convictions overturned on appeal. The so-called Stansted 15 cut through the airport’s perimeter fence and locked themselves together around a Boeing 767 jet chartered by the Home Office to transport people from UK detention centres for repatriation to Africa. They were later convicted at Chelmsford Crown Court of an offence arising out of the March 2017 incident. Three were given suspended jail sentences and the other 12 were handed community orders. The group were granted permission to appeal against their convictions in August 2019 and a three-day hearing took place before the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett, sitting with Mr Justice Jay and Mrs Justice Whipple, in November.
BBC News
Published
image copyrightKristian Buus/Getty Images
image captionThe Stansted 15 tried to stop an aircraft being used to deport people to Africa (one of the 15 did not make the photo call in time)
Protesters who broke into Stansted Airport to stop a plane deporting people to Africa have won an appeal against their convictions.
The group, known as the Stansted 15, cut through the perimeter fence and locked themselves together around a Boeing 767 jet in 2017.
The Lord Chief Justice said they should not have been prosecuted for the extremely serious offence .
A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: We will consider the judgment carefully in the next 28 days.
By Press Association 2021
Six members of the Stansted 15 outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London
Protesters taken to court after preventing a deportation flight from taking off from Stansted Airport have had their convictions overturned by the Court of Appeal.
The so-called “Stansted 15” cut through the Essex airport’s perimeter fence in March 2017 and locked themselves together around a Boeing 767 jet chartered by the Home Office to transport people from UK detention centres for repatriation to Africa.
They were convicted at Chelmsford Crown Court in December 2018 of the intentional disruption of services at an aerodrome under the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990 (Amsa) – and the following February three were given suspended jail sentences and the others handed community orders.
Published:
7:52 PM January 29, 2021
Updated:
8:37 PM January 29, 2021
Six members of the so-called Stansted 15 outside the Royal Courts of Justice after their convictions were overturned. Left to right are May MacKeith, Ben Smoke, Helen Brewer, Emma Hughes, Mel Evans and Ruth Potts
- Credit: Victoria Jones/PA Wire
Protestors who stopped a deportation flight bound for Africa taking off from Stansted Airport have won an appeal against their convictions.
The group, dubbed the Stansted 15 , cut through the perimeter fence in March 2017 and locked themselves together around the Boeing 767 jet, which had been chartered by the Home Office to take people from UK detention centres to Africa.