Just Stop Oil activists banned from London protests by judge

Mr Simpson, of Shipley, West Yorkshire, and Ms Somerville, of Bradford, West Yorkshire, attended court in person, while Ms Green, from Penryn in Cornwall, appeared by video link.

Their lawyer, Raj Chada, argued the ban was a “disproportional” infringement on their right to protest because London is “the seat of government”.

But Judge Alexander Milne said: “The application of the defendants’ right to protest is a relative one – and there seems to be a great deal of blurring between the exercise of that right and the commission of criminal offences.

“This court is not banning them from lawful protest anywhere else in the UK, but I will ban them from participating in any protest within the M25.”