THE government’s draconian anti-protest laws have been used to give a shocking six-month prison sentence to a climate activist for taking part in a peaceful slow march. 

Just Stop Oil supporter Stephen Gingell, 57, was sentenced at Manchester magistrates’ court on Thursday. 

The father-of-three was arrested on November 13 after taking part in a slow march in north London for about half an hour.  

Mr Gingell pleaded guilty to breaching section seven of the Public Order Act, which bans any act “which interferes with the use or operation of any key national infrastructure in England and Wales.”

Passed in May, the widely condemned legislation allows police to ban peaceful protests merely on the grounds that they might become disruptive. 

“It seems this government has now made walking down the road, walking on the public highway, an illegal act that is worthy of imprisonment,” a Just Stop Oil spokesperson said.

“How many fathers will be imprisoned before those planning to kill us are stopped?

“Protected by the government, by failed politicians, by the police, those committing genocide continue to walk free, while those protesting the killings are banged up.”

A spokesperson for Lawyers are Responsible, a group of legal professionals, said: “This sentence demonstrates the increasingly repressive environment that people find themselves in when they take entirely peaceful action to express concern about the climate and ecological crisis. 

“Our legal system has become completely detached from the real threat to our futures posed by the climate and ecological emergency.

“People should not be criminalised for standing up for our futures.”

Katy Watts, a lawyer at human rights organisation Liberty, said: “This is yet another unnecessary and draconian law introduced by a government that is hell-bent on discouraging people from standing up for what they believe in. It is a clear attempt to silence people and for the government to hide from all accountability. 

“Protest is a fundamental right, not a gift from the state. The government should be protecting our right to protest, not criminalising it.” 

Speaking last year, Mr Gingell explained why it was crucial for him to take part in Just Stop Oil protests. 

“I’ve got no choice. I’ve got three lovely children — what future are they going to have? I really fear for their lives,” he said.