Reverend Sue Parfitt, 77, found guilty for failure to comply with Section 14 (Oxford Circus, Maundy Thursday, April 2019) – pictured outside City of London Magistrates Court earlier today.

She says:

“I am not a lawyer and I am not a climate scientist but I am also not a criminal. I lay on the highway in order to draw the government’s attention to the need to urgently change course. I have exhausted all other means available to a citizen to get the government to act appropriately in this emergency. Thus, I must take unusual steps to draw the government’s attention to the need for immediate action.

“My membership of Christian Climate Action binds me to its principles of resistance to evil, non-violence, and sacrifice. As a Christian, I follow the radical, prophetic Jesus who laid down His life in order to bring life and justice to others. As His follower, I must also be prepared, in some small way, to lay down my life to save the lives of others now and in the future.

“I must continue on this path of resistance until the governments of the world take the urgent steps required to interrupt the suicidal path that we are currently on. I am fully mindful of the disruption and inconvenience I have caused to others in following this path and I apologise to them, but convinced as I am of the overwhelming evidence of what the future holds for us all if we do not change course, any disruption suffered now cannot be compared with what otherwise lies ahead.”

Photo credit: Helena Smith