Phil Kingston, 85, attended a virtual (online) plea hearing at Westminster Magistrate’s Court today. In October 2019 he took part in an action which involved spraying fake blood over the Treasury building from an out-of-service fire engine. He began speaking as soon as he was connected to the court and read most of the following statement before he was cut off.

I am here today to work for the security and well-being of my grandchildren as they face the unfolding catastrophe of climate breakdown. It is not me who should be on trial but the UK Government for its complete failure to safeguard their future well-being. Where is this government’s moral base when it consistently places the economy before the probability of a life of suffering for them and their generation across the world?

I regard this court as complicit in this government crime.

I am a Christian so I care about you judge and all persons who are administering these court proceedings. I care for your children and grandchildren as I care for my own. I hope that one day you will realise what you are doing and resign from this judicial system. It is only in a social, political and economic system of mutual care and cooperation that a semblance of a truly human life will develop. I will stand for that as long as I have life.