Just Stop Oil protester, 77, is recalled to prison days before Christmas because her wrists are too small for electronic tag
A 77-year-old Just Stop Oil protester was recalled to prison because her wrists are too small for an electronic tag.
A 77-year-old Just Stop Oil protester was recalled to prison because her wrists are too small for an electronic tag.
Grandmother Gaie Delap, from Bristol, was sentenced to 20 months in prison in August for her part in disruptive protests on the M25 in November 2022.
The demonstration brought traffic during the morning rush hour to a standstill at more than half a dozen separate locations along the motorway, with protesters scaling the gantries to fly a Just Stop Oil flag.
Ms Delap was one of four activists who were released early and she was freed on November 18 on a home detention curfew.
But while the other three early release protesters were successfully tagged, the Electronic Monitoring Service (EMS) was unable to fit a tag to Ms Delaps ankle due to a health condition, so attempted to fit one to her wrist instead.
When they were unable to do so since her wrists were too small for the tag, a warrant was issued for her arrest on December 5 despite, according to Just Stop Oil, her being fully compliant with the terms of release.
The activist group said police arrived at her home in Bristol to escort her to HMP Eastwood Park, which they accurately described as having the highest rates of self-harm of any womens prison in England and Wales, according to a 2023 report.
The campaign group said Delap suffers from numerous health conditions and suffered a stroke in the run-up to her trial in August 2024.
Grandmother Gaie Delap, from Bristol, was sentenced to 20 months in prison in August for her part in protests on the M25 in November 2022
Just Stop Oil activists (Ms Delap on far left of shot) outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, where they were accused of breaking a National Highways injunction during their M25 protest in November 2022
Activists protest during a Just Stop Oil protest in Parliament Square on October 30, 2023 in London, England
Ms Delap will now spend Christmas in prison and is understandably terrified after her experiences during her last period of incarceration, a Just Stop Oil spokesperson said in a statement.
She experienced significant mistreatment in prison, suffering wrist problems after being handcuffed to a bed in hospital. The warrant for her arrest was issued whilst she was receiving treatment in hospital.
The M25 protest triggered mass anger among motorists - with long tailbacks at several stretches of the motorway - and even prevented one man from missing his fathers funeral.
However, there were figures willing to come to the groups defence, including former Newsnight host Emily Maitlis, who compared the group to Rosa Parks and the Suffragettes.
Ms Delap was sentenced on August 1 to 20 months in prison at Basildon Crown Court after breaching a National Highways injunction that sought to stop protesters grinding the M25 to a halt.
The retired teacher from Bristol previously told the judge that her heart was breaking for the future of her six grandchildren.
Mr Justice Soole found that she and nine of the others had not been made aware of the injunction by a Just Stop Oil mentor prior to the protest, describing the omission as a significant failure and breach of trust.
According to Ms Delaps daughter, Lily Pridie, the severity of the sentence came as a shock to the family.
Friends and family of climate activist Gaie Delap, 78. Pictured (left-to-right): Gaies brother Nick, and friends Mike Campbell and Annie Menter
Retired teacher Gaie Delap, of Bristol, outside the Royal Courts of Justice in central London where she told a High Court judge why she climbed on to a motorway gantry to take part in a Just Stop Oil protest.
Police watch as traffic is held back as an activist from Just Stop Oil occupies a gantry over the M25 near Godstone in Surrey as part of the November 2022 protests
The M25 blockade in November 2022, which saw campaigners climb gantries over the motorway, caused 50,000 hours of delays and forced a man to miss his fathers funeral
Activists carried out the blockade across different parts of the M25 motorway orbiting London
Upon sentencing, she said the family will miss the childcare and that Ms Daleps granddaughters, then both under one, will miss seeing her.
Delaps family have called on supporters to contact Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood to ask her to reverse the decision.
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said: Gaie took action in 2022 after the government announced that it would issue over 100 new oil and gas licences.
This was despite summer temperatures climbing above 40C, railways buckling in the heat, harvests being decimated, and the London Fire Brigade experiencing the most calls since WWII. There were 61,000 excess deaths from the heat in Europe that year.
Gaie took this brave action out of a deep sense of duty to protect her children, grandchildren and indeed all of us.
Meanwhile those causing real disruption - the fossil fuel executives, the water company bosses, the corrupt politicians who profited over dodgy PPE contracts, all walk free.
Friends and family of Delap issued a statement through the campaign group in which they said: We are outraged by her recall to prison. We know this is cruel, and totally unnecessary. We know there are alternatives to the tag. We know that if she had been a man, a tag would have been available to EMS.
Because of medical conditions, Gaie requires a wrist tag, or some equivalent. And we know from our own investigations and enquiries there are many out there.
Just Stop Oil sparked rush hour chaos after an activist scaled the motorway gantry on the M25
A Just Stop Oil protester was detained after they climbed a gantry on the M25, leading to the closure of the motorway
Specialist rope officers were deployed by Kent Police to remove the activists and limit disruption on the motorway
National Highways had accused 12 people of taking part in M25 protests in November 2022, which led to police making 35 arrests
Moreover, Gaie is absolutely no threat to the community. This recall to prison is a ridiculous waste of resources and money.
It will cost the taxpayer £12,000 to keep Gaie in prison. We cannot believe that there is not an electronic monitoring device that can be fitted at a fraction of the cost. We want common sense to prevail.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said: We have a duty to enforce sentences passed down by the independent judiciary.
The law states anyone released under Home Detention Curfew must be tagged and recalled if no alternative solution is available.
