Paul Powlesland
@paulpowlesland
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Rights of nature & climate activist. Barrister & river guardian; love defending & protecting trees & rivers. Founder @lawfornature & @riverroding .
Joined August 2011
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Just went to Parliament Square & held up a blank piece of paper. Officer came & asked for my details. He confirmed that if I wrote “Not My King” on it, he would arrest me under the Public Order Act because someone might be offended.
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A period of quiet mourning for the Queen is fine, but using that period to cement Charles Accession as King & cracking down on any dissent to the accession as disrespectful is outrageous.
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So, I find myself 30ft in the air up a tree in Wellingborough- surrounded by police, security & tree surgeons- trying to prevent an illegal tree felling. How did I end up here? Here’s an outrageous story of nature destruction & collusion between authorities & private developer 🧵
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“Before landscapes die, they first vanish in the imagination”. This is the story of a small brook on the outskirts of London, the Aldersbrook, which has survived against the odds, but in the worst state imaginable, & my attempts to act as a guardian of this river & its rights🧵
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Can we please have a ‘Grand Designs’ style show following the efforts to rebuild the Crooked House, where the owners who unlawfully demolished slowly discover with horror how much more expensive it is to rebuild something crooked than it would cost to build straight?
🔥BREAKING NEWS 📢 Owners ordered to rebuild Crooked House pub 🍺South Staffordshire Council's enforcement order requires the building to be built back to what it was prior to the fire 🤙♻️
#Heritage
#Pub
#Demolition
🫂👀
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Just when you think today can’t get any weirder, uniformed Met Police officers are handing out coronation merchandise to the crowd, with the Met Police logo next to Charles’ coronation emblem. Utterly bizarre use of police funding & undermines the neutrality of the police
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Hi Met Police, just checking whether peacefully holding a sign saying “Not My King” out of the processional route but within the crowd counts as “undermining this celebration”. If you will arrest for doing so, can you clarify what offence would be committed?
Our tolerance for any disruption, whether through protest or otherwise, will be low.
We will deal robustly with anyone intent on undermining this celebration.
🧵🔽
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Republican protesters near Trafalgar Square being told by a Met Police officer that they may be arrested for public nuisance for chanting “Not My King”
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My bail conditions from
@NorthantsPolice
now forbid me from climbing any tree in Northamptonshire, so I was so pleased this morning to wake up to the news that another tree protector has occupied the trees in Wellingborough. Deep gratitude & respect to this person.
❗️BREAKING❗️ Wellingborough tree protected again!
A tree protector has climbed the same tree in the early hours of this morning that
@paulpowlesland
climbed yesterday, to stop it being felled. Solidarity with these brave people protecting nature 💚
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Turns out it is possible to exclude vehicles from & pedestrianise large parts of central London without the economy collapsing or the sky falling in. Who knew?
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Destruction of a precious ancient bluebell woodland in the Kent countryside under a deluge of illegal landfill waste shows the utter failure of environmental law, complete inaction by the authorities & increasing lawlessness in the UK. Let me tell you the story of Hoads Wood 🧵
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Absolutely delighted to announce that the tree felling in Wellingborough has been suspended & the developer has agreed to a public consultation on its plans which will include release of the docs requested by the community, as explained by Marion, the local leader of the campaign
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Glad I was able to go on TV this morning & make the argument that few others have been allowed to make: we can respect & mourn the Queen, whilst also questioning & protesting Charles’ accession to the throne & attempts to use the respect felt for the Queen to bolster his position
"What I've seen over the last week... a really obvious attempt to use the memory and respect for the Queen to very quickly bolster Prince Charles credibility as the new monarch, and I think thats actually quite cynical in some ways"
@paulpowlesland
on
#GMB
this morning.
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The felling crews went home (so the trees are safe for today); the head of the council offered a meeting tomorrow; & I was starting to get hypothermia, so I’ve now left the tree. Thanks for all your good wishes & the support & publicity you’ve given the campaign to save the trees
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Let there be life! Pleased to report my experiment to find a cheap way to naturalise hard river edges in urban areas appears to be successful. Last winter I coppiced long willow branches, put them in hessian bags of silt & dropped them into the Roding; many trees are now growing
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Update: the police have now surrounded my tree with fencing (kindly provided by the developer they are colluding with today) & are covering it in police ‘crime scene’ tape so the tree is a crime scene. It would be funny if it wasn’t such an abuse of power & waste of resources
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Update: I’m still in the tree & despite saying I would come down if the police moved away, they’ve now brought in *12* officers to surround the crime scene pen they’ve made & a fire engine. Such a ludicrous waste of resources to unlawfully arrest someone.
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Proud to join over 100 other lawyers in signing a declaration of conscience withholding our services from supporting new fossil fuel projects & prosecuting peaceful climate protesters. In the week that the IPCC issued its ‘final warning to humanity’, lawyers must act responsibly
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Looks like we have our answer. Any burglars in London, today is your day! The Met Police are far too busy unlawfully confiscating placards with ‘Not My King’ written on them so Charles can be crowned like a despot, with no peaceful expressions of dissent allowed.
Hi Met Police, just checking whether peacefully holding a sign saying “Not My King” out of the processional route but within the crowd counts as “undermining this celebration”. If you will arrest for doing so, can you clarify what offence would be committed?
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Out on the River Roding yesterday I discovered what these spill statistics mean in reality. A cascade of sun bleached wet wipes & sanitary towels strewn down the bank of the Roding from Combined Sewer Overflow. When do we draw a line in the sand & say this is simply unacceptable?
Thanks to
@thameswater
, the River Roding has received the dubious honour of being the 2nd most sewage-filled river in London after the Thames. We need answers & a proper plan about how Thames Water intends to reduce & then stop these disgusting spills.
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It’s absolutely freezing today, but I intend to remain up here to prevent the illegal felling of these trees. So far the work has stopped, which is good. If you wish to support, please send emails or call North Northants Council & ask them to use powers to issue a stop notice
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My mistake! Thanks to all the police officers in the comments for pointing out it is in fact a City of London Police Officer threatening to arrest people for something that is not a crime. I wouldn’t want to imply it’s only the Met that acts unlawfully to quash peaceful protest.
Republican protesters near Trafalgar Square being told by a Met Police officer that they may be arrested for public nuisance for chanting “Not My King”
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There's something wonderfully subversive about taking tree cuttings to their new home by Tube. Here, the UK's rarest native tree, the black poplar, travelling on the District Line from Dagenham to add to a growing community of black poplars in Barking.
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Courage calls to courage everywhere. Inspired by the recent actions of
@JustStop_Oil
activists at the Grand Prix & in the galleries, I realised it was time to step out again & do I can to bring attention to the complicity of my profession with the climate crisis
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I’ve spent the winter taking cuttings from some of the rarest clones of the rare native black poplar tree & transporting them to their new home on the River Roding by backpack, bike & tube. I’ve planted over 100 potential new trees & now waiting to see which ones burst into life
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Absolutely textbook case of why granting the police sweeping new powers is a bad idea. Met Police now trying to justify their arrests of peaceful & law abiding republican activists this weekend on the basis that luggage straps in their van “could be used” as lock on devices
They searched the vehicle and, as well as a large number of placards, found items which at the time they had reasonable grounds to believe could be used as lock on devices.
🧵🔽
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At this point I had a choice: to allow these beautiful trees to be illegally & unnecessarily felled, or to climb one of them to of them to prevent the illegality. Before I knew it, I was scrambling up the tree & seeing the perplexed expression of the police far below me
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Last night was a victory for freedom of speech & the right to express dissenting opinions about the monarchy & the accession of Charles as king, as a whole group of protesters gathered outside Parliament holding placards with their views on them. Short🧵
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The juxtaposition of this flood & the new builds under construction almost perfectly illustrates why the Yimby ‘build, build, build’ fantasy that we can indefinitely build things for humans- & concrete over nature- without consequences is deluded
River Sheaf off Abbeydale Road, Sheffield, England 2023
#StormBabet
#Flooding
#floods
#England
📹 Myrtle_Knits
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@Hestiaforever
Yes, the police ignoring people’s lawful and peaceful protests that others might not like is exactly the response I would expect in a free, mature, democratic country.
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The outpouring of grief, sadness & anger about the felling of Sycamore Gap Tree shows the strength of love & care many British people feel for our trees. Here’s why we should change the law to give ancient & veteran trees the same protection as historic buildings & monuments 🧵
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If refusing to use my professional skills to assist new fossil fuel extraction projects- which will lead to great destruction & loss of life around the world- makes me a “hobbit”, I’m proud to be called that on live national TV!
"I probably earn the least amount at the bar because I choose to take cases on issues that are important to me."
@PaulPowlesland
defends himself after
@EstherK_K
calls him "privileged" for turning down work prosecuting eco-warriors.
She also calls him a "hobbit" for protesting.
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What do you get if you cross the ‘Minister for Access to Nature’ with his 10,000 acre private estate near Reading that the public are almost entirely excluded from? Answer: the perfect place for a sunny winter day’s trespass on the hidden estates of
@RichardHRBenyon
🧵
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I’ve never encountered a more perfect example of how screwed up our conversation about land access & responsibility is, & how leniently we view environmental crime by landowners, than this scene I encountered on the River Roding today
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Today marks the re-opening of Battersea Power Station. Whilst I'm glad the building has been saved, I'm sad that much of its soul & beauty has been lost to luxury flats. To mark the change, here's photos & memories from my urban exploration of the derelict site a decade ago(1/14)
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So Suella Braverman is now apparently advocating to suspend habeas corpus to make her beloved Rwanda plan work. This means that *anyone* could be nabbed from the streets by the Home Office, put on a plane to Rwanda & they would not be able to challenge it in the courts.
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Judicial persecution of climate protesters descends into farce. On Tuesday, Trudi Warner will be tried for contempt for silently holding this sign on a public highway outside court. Her trial will be at Old Bailey, which has a marble plaque in almost the same terms as her placard
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The police came over & read their prepared script on aggravated trespass. I tried to reason with them that such an arrest could not be made given the unlawful nature of the tree felling, which they completely ignored & began physically removing people from the area
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*Breaking news* the first
@InsulateLove
protesters to be tried by a jury have all been acquitted of public nuisance, despite the trial judge refusing mention of climate change or fuel poverty. Remember: if you are on a jury, you have an absolute right to acquit for any reason!
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At this point, I was instructed by the protesters to produce a pro bono advice on the position. Looking at all of the available documents, my clear conclusion was that the exemptions to the TPO regs didn’t apply & therefore felling the trees with TPO’s would be illegal
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I think my favourite thing about yesterday’s Guardian article on the River Roding is getting this headline in the print edition of a major national newspaper. Let all of us who believe that rivers are sacred & have rights say so loudly & proudly, & then act as if it is true.
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I was down on the Aldersbrook one day, feeling sad at the state of the river, when I saw a kingfisher fly straight along the brook in a flash of red & blue. I refuse to let this brook die, in reality or in our imaginations & will fight with love for its survival & restoration
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Feeling increasingly anxious about the failure of my profession to even talk about, let alone take action, on its role in the climate crisis, today I sat peacefully on the steps of
@middletemple
holding up the Lawyers Declaration of Rebellion, my wig & gown at my feet…
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Safety in numbers: some groups of Republican protesters have been able to gather & express their opinion, but the official Republic demo, with a programme of speeches & talks doesn’t seem to be going ahead due to the Met Police arresting the organisers in order to quash dissent.
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Shout out to the folk who have repeatedly reported me to Bar Standards Board for my climate activism in the legal profession. I’m donating £50 to
@JustStop_Oil
for every complaint you make that is not upheld. You have currently raised £250 (kindly doubled to £500 by
@DaleVince
)
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‘Wellingborough Walks’ is an impressive Avenue of Lime Trees that is over 100 years old & is the pride of the town. A few weeks ago, local councillors were informed that 60 of the trees were to be felled, ostensibly to make a new roundabout & move a gas main
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And there we have it- a full admission & apology that Sheffield City Council were completely in the wrong over the tree felling saga. This doesn’t, of course, bring the trees back nor undo the violence that was inflicted on the brave activists who were in the right all along 🧵
We have issued our apology to all residents of Sheffield, and beyond, for our actions during the street trees dispute.
Please see it here:
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Six months later
@NorthantsPolice
admit that there is no realistic prospect of convicting me for my tree-saving protest. Their reaction to this protest & the way they disregarded the law to help a private developer, tells us much about nature protection, law & power in the UK 🧵
So, I find myself 30ft in the air up a tree in Wellingborough- surrounded by police, security & tree surgeons- trying to prevent an illegal tree felling. How did I end up here? Here’s an outrageous story of nature destruction & collusion between authorities & private developer 🧵
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Well that escalated quickly! From one person threatened with prison for holding a sign with the law on it, to 24 holding the same sign this summer, to 240 people across the country today. Looks like this campaign will be increasingly difficult to halt or contain.
1. BREAKING: TODAY, HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE NATIONWIDE replicate the action of
#TrudiWarner
, the 68 year-old retired social worker, threatened with prison for upholding the law on a sign 🧵
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At tonight’s Middle Temple protest, I was able to look the Lord Chief Justice in the eye & say “the UK reached its highest ever temperature this week. You are one of the most powerful & influential people in the country. What actions are you taking & how will history judge you?”
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But no! So I travelled to Wellingborough to talk to the police on the ground. I explained my advice to them & they did not contradict it. However not only were the police unwilling to stop the illegal felling, they were threatening to arrest the protesters for aggravated trespass
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After a court hearing today I couldn’t wait to get out on my work raft in the rare late afternoon summer sunshine & cool off in the Roding whilst also showing the river some love by removing a satisfyingly large amount of trollies, rubbish & debris from the riverbed.
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They swung into action, forming a local group to question & challenge the decision. They found that the trees have a Tree Preservation Order on them which makes it a criminal offence to damage or destroy them. But despite protests the developer Vistry started destroying the trees
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The awful felling of these veteran beech trees seems to confirm what I’ve felt for some time: that the ‘felling licence’ regime is not fit for purpose & the Forestry Commission is not an effective guardian of our ancient woodlands & its irreplaceable trees
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I’m sharing the advice I have with the permission of the protesters who instructed me. This was also shared with the council & the police. It was hoped that it would convince them to act to prevent the felling or at least to provide clarity as to why the advice was not correct
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The magic of spending time alone in nature. After a full day walking the River Roding, I found an ancient hornbeam wood to camp in. I put my bag down & spent a few minutes sitting in silence. I heard a scuffling sound behind me & came face to face with a badger for the first time
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This does not make sense as any trespass also has to be obstructing “lawful” activity to be aggravated. The activity the protesters were obstructing appeared to be unlawful. However, the police had conferred with the tree surgeons & contractors & were clearly on their side
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Noticing the officer from
@gmpolice
laying hands on
@AndrewBoff
here. At a loss to think what offence they reasonably think Andrew could have committed to justify this? Or are the police now acting effectively as security guard heavies for a private event?
BREAKING: the person ejected from the Home Sec’s speech was London Assembly member
@AndrewBoff
.
Here’s what he had to say 👇
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Local people were arrested for trying to stop the felling & the local tree campaigners asked the council why they wouldn’t enforce the TPO & put a stop notice on the felling. They were told that an exemption applied under the TPO regs
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And thanks to
@NorthantsPolice
for cheering me up by giving me the hilariously ridiculous bail condition of “Not to climb any tree in Northamptonshire”. John Clare would be proud!
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*On the trail of the UK’s rarest native tree*. I’ve recently joined an academic study into the genetics of the black poplar; one of our most imperilled, but enigmatic, trees. This study will help to unlock info that may be crucial to our efforts to save this wonderful species🧵
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How brave of
@NorthantsPolice
to issue a statement not answering the key question (ie whether activity being conducted by developers is in fact “lawful”) & then switch off comments. For a reminder, here are those questions I asked their sergeant yesterday, which remain unanswered
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It seems the voters of Plymouth weren’t as quick as Mr Mercer to defend or excuse a secret night time operation to needlessly fell 100 irreplaceable city centre trees against local wishes. Another warning to local politicians of the electoral consequences of nature destruction.
I’m afraid it’s been a terrible night in Plymouth as we lost every seat we stood in. We lost some outstanding friends and colleagues who have given decades of service to Plymouth.
Take it on the chin, learn and go again tomorrow. It’s going to be a fight but I like a fight.
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Good news that since climbing the Wellingborough Lime Tree,
@NNorthantsC
seem to be taking their responsibilities seriously & no further trees have been felled. Hoping this continues & NNC demand the developer makes public the docs below, which will determine if felling is lawful
You will have all noticed that no more trees have been removed over the last few days, and I can say in the short-term until I'm satisfied that Vistry are beginning to listen there will be no further felling. I won't be intimidated or bullied by anyone.
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Deep respect for Patrick; one of the most principled & thoughtful people & activists I know. He understands the deep truth that we have a moral obligation not to merely stand by & watch the climate crisis & it’s catastrophic consequences for humanity & the earth unfold.
💬 Dr Patrick Hart, 37, a GP from Bristol, who took part in the action, said:
“I am doing this because it’s my duty as a doctor. The climate crisis is the greatest health crisis humanity has ever faced. People are dying now and more will die every day unless we stop new oil, gas…
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I really admire the exuberant re-growth of the felled London Plane Trees at Euston. It’s a perfect way for nature to say f*ck you to the gratuitous ecological destruction wrought by HS2 in the area.
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Absolutely disgusting actions by the Met Police today. Arresting staff from a respected NGO who’ve done everything to liaise with police to hold a peaceful & lawful protest. The Met have clearly decided to break the law in order to ensure that no one “undermines the celebration”
This morning,
@GrahamSmith_
and 5 members of our team were arrested. Hundreds of placards were seized. Is this democracy?
#NotMyKing
#Coronation
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The recent spate of tree destruction has left people feeling justifiably angry. That anger is a manifestation of our love for nature, but we must not let it make us bitter. Let us transmute anger into action with this 🧵 of tree campaigns you can support & actions you can take…
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It’s incredible to see all the different groups of transport users starting to come out & protest for
@JustStop_Oil
. I even saw this ‘slow driving’ protest causing disruption to the entire Strand recently. Amazing to see taxi & car drivers now coming out in support as well!
🚲 BREAKING: 9 Slow Cycle for No New Oil and Gas in West End
🦺 At 8am, 9 supporters began slow cycling down Park Lane to demand an end to new fossil fuels. At the same time, another 2 groups of supporters began slow marching on the A2 at Blackheath and at Chiswick roundabout.
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Big news for climate conscious lawyering today. The Law Society has issued new climate guidance & its momentous stuff: “Law firms can refuse to act for polluters if the client’s activities inhibit progress toward net zero”
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Went to my cabin for this first time this autumn to discover that the local harvest mice had made a winter nest entirely from ripping up a copy of
@RobGMacfarlane
’s ‘The Old Ways’. It feels strangely appropriate, so I’m going to put it in a box in the corner and leave them be.
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Appalling destruction of nature where it’s most needed, in an otherwise concrete urban area. Like in Sheffield, those who ordered this will likely be judged to have acted wrongly, but it’ll be too late to bring back the trees. We urgently need stronger tree protection in the UK
The true extent of the environmental vandalism by
#Plymouth
’s Conservative council is now visible in our city centre. Over 100 trees felled overnight. This was the last green part of a very urban city centre and now looks like part of the Amazon after deforestation.
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‘We will love that which we know & protect what we love’: in an effort to get to know my river, the Roding, I’m walking the whole river from source to sea over the next week, & mapping it in as much detail as possible so this knowledge can be used to protect & restore the river
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Waving a plastic flag is the ‘cheap card & box of chocs from the petrol station on Valentines Day’ version of love for your country. My fierce love for these lands is expressed in action to protect its trees, rivers & nature, & a desire that all its people have free & happy lives
'I am proud to be British'
'Let's get a new flag because that one is outdated.'
@narindertweets
@iamtomskinner
has claimed that he’s 'proud' to be English after receiving criticism for his post on Twitter celebrating St George’s Day.
Are we ashamed to be English?
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Came home after a weekend away to find a guy living in my sauna. After the initial shock, I admired his resourcefulness: it’s warm in there & he’d made it cosy. Gave him a pillow, a carbon monoxide alarm & some food & said we’d chat in the morning about how long he wants to stay
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@GBNEWS
@Nigel_Farage
Hi everyone, Paul here. (1) yes, I have long hair. (2) no need to swear. (3) yes, climate change is real and is the most serious threat we face, both as a country and as a species. (4) a lot of insults here, but a sad dearth of argument- you can do better, I’m sure of it!
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This morning, just before going live on air on Talk TV I was twice told that I had to remove my white poppy as it was a “political symbol” not allowed on TV. I absolutely refused & said I would rather not appear on the programme. With seconds to go I was allowed to remain
Luke Gittos and Paul Powlesland debate whether the police show “double standards” in their policing of protests.
Luke: “I think it’s a historical tragedy that people are showing up at this time to march alongside and share a platform with Islamists.”
@iancollinsuk
|
#TalkTV
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The mighty River Medway, the biggest river in South East England except the Thames has today stopped flowing over its weir. Now reduced to a small stream a few feet wide & a couple of cm deep, flowing through a canoe pass. Our rivers are dying- what are the government & EA doing?
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Another ignominy suffered by the Aldersbrook is severe plastic pollution. Due to the tidal barrier, a lot of the Roding’s floating rubbish ends up trapped here, leading to some of the worst plastic pollution I’ve ever witnessed on a river. Frankly, these pictures should shame us
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@Depheruk
Can you please give it back to her and I will donate the same amount plus £50 to depher?
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Outrageously, I have just been fined £200 under the covid regs for daring to do my job as a barrister and to assist activists in the tunnel at the Euston anti-HS2 protest to halt actions by the the National Eviction Team that threatens their safety.
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Absurd that Solicitor General is prosecuting a pensioner for silently holding a sign with the law written on it. It shows how afraid government & judges are that juries will not convict activists when they are told the true scale of the climate crisis
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Reconnecting the brook to the Roding & tidal flow will allow natural processes to resume & rare vital habitats to naturally re-emerge. Some parts of the brook have retained their river-like feel: it would be magic for all of it to be like this again
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@HarrietCannon
This is the usual tactic. Force through felling & then make pointless apologies when the damage is already done.
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Assisting these brave & principled people to save thousands of their precious trees from being unnecessarily destroyed remains one of the pieces of work I’m most proud & happy to have done. Going to visit these trees is always a magical experience.
On the day Sheffield Council issue a written apology for the wrongful felling of healthy street trees I am once more expressing my gratitude to
@paulpowlesland
for his pro bono help and support for our campaign and especially for saving the tree the owl hoots from.
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Also, “the felling of the trees is a civil issue” is just patently incorrect. Felling a tree with a TPO is a criminal offence by section 210 Town & Country Planning Act 1990. It is this worrying level of incompetence on the law by police that led to my peaceful actions yesterday
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I originally raised the issue of removing the tidal barrier some years ago, but was rebuffed by the Environment Agency. With the help of
@RBICP
, I renewed that request & the EA has now accepted the barrier can be removed if funding is found. It’s a slow process, but a crucial one
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Wherever you are in the UK or the world, you can also become a river guardian. Make that decision & spend time with your local river, get to know it & it will usually become clear what it needs. Join existing river guardian groups or start your own if there isn’t one already.
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Tragic destruction of Hoad’s wood also illustrates why we need legal personhood for nature. The wood supposedly had strong legal protections, but these were worthless when authorities refused to act. The wood had no guardian to act or bring a case on its behalf: this must change
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Excellent example of brave solidarity activism in action. Judge Reed had a 68 year old woman arrested for holding a sign. Dozens of others have now sat outside his court with the same sign, creating a dilemma: either ignore them or imprison them & spread their message further…
81-year-old priest & gold medal Olympian among protesters, incl drs, lawyers & Quakers @ Inner London Crown Court yesterday - protesting against arrest of Trudi Warner, who was arrested for holding sign telling jurors they can acquit climate change protesters on their conscience.
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I visited the Oakfield plane to witness
@haringeycouncil
taking the urban warfare component of the war on nature to a whole new level. 8 security guards ringing the fencing & guard platform up in the tree: jaw dropping to see this Orwellian & destructive waste of taxpayers money
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Multiple serious crimes were being committed: running an illegal waste site, destroying an SSSI, traffic violations, illegal tree felling, polluting watercourses, planning violations etc etc
So what did all of these different authorities do?
Absolutely nothing.
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To stop this permanently, we need systemic changes such as deposit return charges & a massive reduction in single use packaging. In the meantime, this is one area we can have an immediate effect on- details on a clean-up event this Sunday are in this thread
For those who’ve recently found out about our work & want to get involved in helping to restore one of London’s forgotten rivers, we’re having our first clean up event of the winter season on Sunday 27th November. We’ll be clearing some of the worst plastic pollution in London…
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[government farming minister gestures towards desolate, nature-denuded & ecologically barren land behind him]. Says he’s “… hearing first hand about what we can do to help and support farmers keep this beautiful landscape as it is.” 🤦♂️
Great to be out speaking to farmers on Dartmoor and Exmoor today. Hearing about their challenges, aspirations and support for the environment
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Another day, another senseless, underhand & unnecessary felling of trees by a local authority. Shame on the philistines at
@plymouthcc
for destroying these beautiful trees that belong to local people, not them, & for refusing to talk to residents about ways the trees can be saved
The felling has begun.
Please share and peacefully protest tonight.
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Scariest thing about the
#LondonFlooding
is although the rain was incredibly heavy where I was, it didn’t last long (20 mins or so). What will we do when climate change causes rain like this for hours or even days, if we have flooding like we did today for rain lasting minutes?
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This is the story of one of London’s most ancient rivers, how it was lost & became a ‘ghost river’, & the unique opportunity to resurrect it in our collective imaginations *&* bring it physically back to life. Let me tell you about the Back River; East Ham’s River Roding. 🧵
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Another spectacular example of jury acquittal of peaceful climate activists, when the activists are able to explain to the jury the true nature & scale of the climate crisis & why they took the actions they did
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The threats to our native trees & woodlands aren’t just from chainsaws but also from invasive plants like rhododendron ponticum. Am working hard in my community woodland today removing it. On the left of this photo: a carpet of native bluebells; on the right, rhody & nothing else
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