Bristol GP is cleared of criminal damage after climate protest action at Twickenham

A GP who disrupted a rugby final in support of Just Stop Oil by throwing orange powder onto the pitch at Twickenham has been unanimously cleared of criminal damage by a jury at Kingston Crown Court, southwest London.Patrick Hart, 38, who works as a GP in Bristol, was acquitted along with Sam Johnson, 41, a construction worker from Essex.The pair, who were demanding a halt to any new licences for oil, gas, or coal projects in the UK, stormed the pitch halfway through the Gallagher Premiership rugby final in May 2023 and threw a cloud of corn starch based orange powder paint.After a previous protest by Just Stop Oil supporters at the men’s Ashes test at Lord’s Cricket Ground, the corn starch was easily cleared by a leaf blower. The Twickenham pitch, however, was hard to clear because it combined a natural grass sublayer with synthetic plastic grass, the groundskeeper…
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