Eighteen environmental activists have been sentenced for conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass and criminal damage at Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station.
The 13 men and five women appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday, January 5.<br><br>Jesse Harris, 24, of Sholebroke Avenue, Leeds, Olaf Bayer,35, of Kent Road, Southampton, Jonathan Leighton, 21, of Willowbank Street, Glasgow, Lisa Kamphausen, 26, of Highfield Crescent, Southampton, and Jacqueline Sheedy, 45, of Foulden Road, London, were given community orders.<br><br>The remaining 13 defendants received conditional discharges. <br><br>Police raided the Iona school in Sneinton in April 2009, as part of Operation Aeroscope, where 114 people were subsequently arrested.<br><br>Det Supt Adrian Pearson, who led the investigation, said: “Had the activists been successful in their plans, they would have forced entry to the power station, and caused significant disruption to the public.<br><br>“Like every other police force in the country, we will facilitate peaceful protest. Unfortunately there are a number of people willing to go to extreme lengths to get their point across, damaging property, trespassing on private land and potentially endangering the lives of others.<br><br>”This was a significant operation which cost the force in excess of £300,000. We will continue to work with partner agencies to keep people safe and ensure everyone is able to go about their business without fear of a minority’s determination to disrupt them." <br><br>A total of 114 people were arrested in April 2009 on suspicion of conspiring to disable a major power station and so disrupt a critical piece of the national energy infrastructure.
A total of 20 protestors were convicted at Nottingham Crown Court on December 14, 2010 for their part in the planned attack, which was foiled by Nottinghamshire Police.
A second trial of a further six people was due to start on January 10 at Nottingham Crown Court. However, a decision was taken by the Crown Prosecution Service to discontinue the case when new significant information came to light that would undermine the prosecution’s case.
In the light of these events, Nottinghamshire Police’s Chief Constable Julia Hodson on January 10 invited the Independent Police Complaints Commission to conduct an investigation into the circumstances leading up to the collapse of the case.
In addition, discussions are taking place with a number of bodies about commissioning a second review into the conduct of the undercover operation.
