Extinction Rebellion Heathrow activist sentenced over drone plan

An Extinction Rebellion co-founder has been given a suspended jail sentence for plotting to close Heathrow Airport using a drone.

Roger Hallam, 57, who said a plan for a third runway was "a crime against humanity", was found guilty of conspiring to cause a public nuisance between 1 August and 14 September.

He and co-defendant Larch Maxey claimed it was "merely a publicity exercise".

Their defence was rejected by the jury at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday.

Hallam and fellow eco-activists wanted the protest "to go viral" and shut down the airport, trigger arrests and generate publicity, the trial heard.

Hallam, from Wandsworth, south London, and Maxey, 51, of no fixed address, were found guilty of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance last year after a four-week trial.

Another man, Michael Lynch-White, 33, from Lewes in Sussex, previously pleaded guilty to the same charge.

Valerie Milner-Brown, 71, from Islington, north London, was found not guilty of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.

Prosecuting, James Curtis KC said the intention of Hallam, Maxey and Lynch-White was "to close Heathrow indefinitely until the Government would agree publicly to reverse a national policy permitting the third runway extension".

The policing cost to the public was in excess of £1 million, and 1,600 officer shifts had to be moved, the court was told.

Hallam and Maxey were each sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for 18 months.

Lynch-White was handed a 17 month sentence, suspended for 18 months.

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