Protestor Emma Smart announced her intention to go on hunger strike during her prison sentence
An eco-protestor who had worked to block Britain’s roads with Insulate Britain has announced that she will go on hunger strike while in prison.
On Wednesday November 17, Emma Smart, 44, was handed a four-month prison sentence alongside nine other Insulate Britain protestors.
Speaking on the steps of the High Court, her husband Andy Smith said he was “terrified” to hear his wife was going on hunger strike – but supported her decision.
Smart will be imprisoned in Europe’s largest women’s prison, which also houses many of Britain’s murderers.
The protesters had admitted breaching the injunction at junction 25 of the M25 on October 8 and were subsequently handed prison sentences during a High Court hearing on Monday November 15.
The nine – aged between 20 and 58 years old – were convicted of contempt of court for breaking the National Highways’ M25 injunction and were sentenced to between three and six months in prison.
For weeks, the group controversially glued themselves to some of Britain’s busiest roads, creating travel chaos for commuters.
Ben Taylor, who received the longest sentence, had told the court he planned to reoffend if he was not handed a jail term.
Taylor told the court on Tuesday he would “go and block the motorway at the earliest opportunity and will continue to do so until the government makes a meaningful statement and acts on it” adding “if you somehow manage to stop all non-violent protests, then things will only turn violent.”
The group have been campaigning for the government to insulate all of Britain’s homes by 2030.
In a statement today, Smart confirmed her hunger strike. She said: “I am proud of my actions with Insulate Britain. The government knows that our simple no-brainer demand to cut carbon emissions by insulating Britain’s homes will save lives, eliminate fuel poverty and create thousands of valuable jobs.
“Their failure to take even this basic first step to address climate breakdown is locking us on a course to the destruction of everything we cherish.
“I am heartbroken for my nieces and all young people today who will experience unimaginable suffering because of our government’s inaction.
“Our government is betraying their future… So I am extending my protest into prison by exercising the only freedom that l have left: to control whether I eat.”
On Wednesday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps who had been working on the broken injunctions tweeted: “Every motorway and major A road in the country is now covered by injunctions preventing people from blocking the road
“Anyone who causes misery to motorists may face prison”.
Every motorway and major A road in the country is now covered by injunctions preventing people from blocking the road – anyone who causes misery to motorists may face prison.
I'll continue to do all I can to protect road-users and prevent dangerous, disruptive behaviour. [2/2]
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) November 17, 2021
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