Three pensioners among five from Yorkshire charged over Insulate Britain protests

The Metropolitan Police announced charges against 56 people this morning.

Women from Holmfirth and Todmorden and three men from Scarborough, Dewsbury and Barnsley are among the 50 people charged with causing a public nuisance at junction 14 of the M25 on September 27 last year.

The Metropolitan Police said 12 people are each accused of two counts of causing a public nuisance at junction 14 of the M25 on September 13 last year, and at junction 25 of the M25 on September 15.

They are due to appear at Stratford Magistrates’ Court on Friday April 22.

In addition, 50 people are charged with causing a public nuisance at junction 14 of the M25 on September 27, and will appear at the same court on April 29.

Some defendants have been charged as part of both cases.

Liam Norton, 37, of Esplanade Gardens, Scarborough, Diana Hekt, 67, of Victoria Road, Holmfirth, Anthony Whitehouse 70 of West Park Street, Dewsbury, Julia Mercer, 71, of Beaumont Street, Todmorden and David Nixon, 35, of Kirkstall Road, Barnsley, have all been charged in relation to the September 27 incident.

Insulate Britain, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, wants the Government to insulate all UK homes by 2030 to cut carbon emissions.

It repeatedly blocked major roads between September and November, causing long traffic jams.

Activists often glued their hands to roads or each other to make it harder to remove them.