FIFTEEN people accused of plotting to “lock on” as part of a protest against Drax power station walked free on Monday after the charges were thrown out of court.

The case collapsed on just the second day of a scheduled two-week trial at Leeds magistrates’ court, with advocates arguing insufficient evidence.

Duct tape and string were among the evidence offered by the prosecution as proof that the defendants were “equipped to lock on,” a new offence introduced under the Public Order Act 2023. 

The activists were pre-emptively arrested in a dramatic multimillion-pound policing operation last August on the way to a peaceful climate camp held by Reclaim the Power.

The camp had been organised to protest Drax wood-burning plant, which has been granted £2 million a day in green subsidies despite being Britain’s largest carbon emitter.

The £3m operation involved 1,070 officers from 39 forces, according to a report by Novara Media, and involved the seizing of tents, a wheelchair trackway and accessible toilets. 

Police were criticised over their allocation of resources, with far-right unrest sweeping Britain at the time.

Defendant Phil Ball said: "The original police operation was a shocking waste of taxpayers’ money. 

“This preposterous case was a further waste of taxpayers’ money alongside our own and the courts time at a time when there’s a judicial backlog. 

“But more than that it’s part of a strategic attack on our democratic rights to peaceful protest.”

Another defendant, Laurie Wright, said: “Throughout, police and prosecutors have acted only to protect Drax’s profits and suppress peaceful protest, and today’s decision is a welcome affirmation that the entire process against us has been a complete farce.”