THE Tory government has been accused of a general disregard for human rights concerns after it failed to respond to a UN warning over long jail sentences handed to two Just Stop Oil climate campaigners.

Ian Fry, the UN special rapporteur on the promotion & protection of human rights in the context of climate change, warned against the “significantly more severe” sentences in a letter sent to ministers on August 15, the BBC revealed today.

Protesters caused major traffic disruption after scaling the Dartford Crossing Bridge for almost 40 hours in October last year.