Judge upholds injunction against unlawful protest
UK Oil & Gas PLC (London AIM: UKOG) is pleased to announce that the High Court has upheld the Company’s injunction against unlawful protest at the Horse Hill site near Gatwick Airport.
Having conducted a comprehensive review of the case, the Judge, Mrs. Justice Falk DBE found, yesterday, that:
· There was a sufficiently real and imminent risk to justify the interim injunction order and its revised scope (see the Company’s 5th February RNS), which prohibits trespass to the site’s land, obstruction of the main entrance and lorry surfing.
· The injunction is a reasonable and proportionate restriction on protesters’ activities. The order does not prevent slow walking or simply standing outside the site, provided that this does not physically obstruct anybody entering or leaving the site.
·The Injunction should be extended to include six named protesters associated with Extinction Rebellion (“XR”). In addition, two named XR protestors, who trespassed into the site on 10th October 2020, offered undertakings to the court to abide by the terms of the injunction in return for UKOG not seeking to pursue committal for a breach of the injunction.
The injunction remains in force until a final two-day trial, to be scheduled between June and October 2021.
Stephen Sanderson, UKOG Chief Executive, commented:
“UKOG welcomes Mrs. Justice Falk’s thorough review and for her clear finding that the making of the revised Injunction order was fully justified. UKOG has never sought to obstruct any peaceful protest, or curb the right to freedom of expression, solely to restrain unlawful activities that impede its staff’s right to go about their lawful business. This ruling now makes it clear that acts of trespass, obstruction of the site’s entrance and vehicle surfing do not constitute lawful protest under the right to freedom of expression. We trust that protesters will abide by this ruling.”
