Protesters sat outside York Crown Court in response to the jailing of climate activists elsewhere in the country.

They held placards this morning (Friday, August 9) saying: “No prison for non-violent protesters” after five Just Stop Oil protesters, including one of its co-founders, were jailed for several years for conspiring to organise protests that blocked the M25 motorway.

The sentences, imposed at Southwark Crown Court in July, are thought to be the longest sentences ever given for peaceful protest.

Members of the Defend Our Juries group sat outside York Crown Court from 8.45am to 10am.

Ginnie Shaw, one of the organisers of the York protest, alleged that courts are concealing evidence from juries about climate change issues which she claimed leaves them with “the false impression that the climate crisis is a matter of debate”.

“Defendants are required to give an oath that they will tell the whole truth, yet they are being prevented from doing so in court,” she alleged.

Every jury at the start of a court trial is told that it must base its verdict solely on the evidence given in court and jurors are warned against seeking evidence themselves or talking about the case to anyone outside their number.

Judges and barristers must follow laws on what can be used as evidence in court and how trials can be conducted.

The Press has contacted the Crown Prosecution Service for comment.