THREE Just Stop Oil activists lost their appeal today against convictions for blocking traffic by slow-walking down Earl’s Court Road.

Phoebe Plummer, Daniel Hall and Chiara Sarti took part in a 61-person protest in central London in November 2023, where they were said to have caused “significant delay and frustration amongst motorists.”

Ms Sarti and Mr Hall were each given a 12-month community order and 100 hours’ unpaid work while Ms Plummer was given three months in prison, with a further 24 months for throwing soup on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers in the National Gallery in October 2022.

They were convicted of interfering with key national infrastructure under part of the Public Order Act, a law passed in 2023 aimed at criminalising certain types of protest.

At the Court of Appeal, the trio had claimed their convictions breached their rights to freedom of expression and assembly.

But Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, sitting with Mr Justice Bryan and Mr Justice Chamberlain, refused their appeals, saying the protesters had no “reasonable excuse.”

Baroness Carr said in a written judgment: “The [Public Order Act] had been enacted specifically to criminalise particular forms of protest, and it would be ‘remarkable’ if Parliament had intended persons charged under it to be able to reply on the fact that they were protesting as a defence.”

Footage of the protest showed a group in hi-vis jackets walking slowly down the road and holding banners saying “Just Stop Oil.”

The trio were arrested around 30 minutes after the protest began and police ended the procession after a further 45 minutes by arresting more protesters.