ANTI-HS2 activists who occupied an underground tunnel near Euston station for a month have declared the collapse of the case against them “a victory for the right to protest.”

Daniel Hooper, 48, also known as “Swampy,” Dr Larch Maxey, 49, Isla Sandford, 18, Lachlan Sandford, 20, Juliett Stevenson-Clarke, 22, and Scott Breen, 47, faced charges of aggravated trespass for their 31 days spent in the tunnel network. 

But in a surprise move on the second day of the trial at Highbury Corner magistrates’ court, district judge Susan Williams dismissed all charges. A separate charge of criminal damage against Dr Maxey was also dismissed. 

The activists secretly dug a 100ft tunnel under Euston Gardens and held out in the sprawling network for a month earlier this year.

On Wednesday, the judge dropped the case on the basis that HS2 was not carrying out construction work on the site when the charges were made against the protesters. 

She said: “There is no evidence of any constructor or construction taking place on the land at that time.” 

The judge added that public money should not have been used to bring the case to court, according to campaigners. 

Walking free from the court, Dr Maxey said: “Our victory in court is a victory for the right to protest. But what really matters is victory in the fight for our collective survival.”

Mr Hooper also welcomed the judge’s decision, saying that they shouldn’t have been brought to court in the first place “because HS2 shouldn’t have been happening.”

The activists’ solicitor Simon Natas said that his clients, who all denied committing aggravated trespass, had been “vindicated.” 

The group launched the occupation in January in a bid to halt apparent plans to build a temporary taxi rank over the small park, before being sold to developers as part of plans for HS2. 

HS2 said that it was bitterly disappointed by the court’s decision not to convict the activists. 

An HS2 statement said: “The actions of these illegal trespassers put their own lives at risk, as well as the lives of our staff, agents and those of the emergency service personnel who worked around the clock to ensure the well-being of people who placed themselves in such a dangerous situation underground.”