Charges against five October rebellion protesters dismissed

From The Guardian:

Judge says ‘abject failure’ by CPS left case lacking key prosecution witness as police officer goes on holiday.

All charges against five Extinction Rebellion protesters have been dismissed at City of London magistrates court.

The deputy district judge, Vincent McDade, said there had been an “abject failure” by the Crown Prosecution Service. A police officer who had been due to be a prosecution witness was not given enough notice about the date of the trial and had booked a holiday.

Before the hearing on Tuesday, the former government chief scientist Sir David King had backed Extinction Rebellion over the climate emergency. “What we are talking about is the most important issue humanity has ever had to face up to,” he said, speaking outside the court. “And when I say humanity I mean all of us. We’re all in this boat together.” Sign up to the Green Light email to get the planet's most important stories Read more

“No government, including ours, is doing enough today,” King said. “So what we need is much more action and we need it with a public voice. That’s what Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion have done. They’ve put it back on the front pages.”

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