JUST Stop Oil activists held a slow march through north London at the weekend in solidarity with members who have been locked up for protesting against climate change. 

The group says there are currently six climate activists behind bars, either serving sentences or awaiting trial. 

The march set off from Pentonville prison in Islington on Saturday morning.

It came after six supporters of the group were convicted of public nuisance on Friday for running onto the race track at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone last year. 

And earlier in the week, Insulate Britain activist David Nixon was jailed for two months for contempt of court after he disobeyed a judge’s order not to mention the climate crisis as his motivation for blocking a road. 

One of the protesters, Anne Richards, 65, said: “What sort of society do we live in where peaceful protesters are in prison while criminal oil giants are killing us?”

Just Stop Oil launched its campaign of direction action in April 2022 to demand the government stop all new oil and gas projects. Since then there have been more than 2,000 arrests and 138 people have spent time in prison, the group said.