1st May 2014 All the anti-fracking campaigners charged with public order offences by Sussex Police after last year’s protests at Balcombe have now been found not guilty.
1st May 2014 Cheers from the public gallery greeted the words of District Judge Peter Crabtree: “Mr Welsh you are free to go.”
25th April 2014 More than 70% of the charges that went to trial following anti-fracking protests outside Cuadrilla’s exploration site in Balcombe have now resulted in acquittals or were dropped during the court case.
31/3/14 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns in its latest report that health, homes, food and safety are likely to be threatened by rising temperatures. Chris Field, co-chair of the IPCC working group, said: “The report concludes that people, societies, and ecosystems are vulnerable around the world, but with […]
March 20th 2014 Simon Welsh, the poet arrested for singing outside the gate of Cuadrilla’s oil exploration site in Balcombe, explained in verse this afternoon why he thought he had done nothing wrong. Mr Welsh, 34, of High Street, Balcombe, went into the witness box at Brighton Magistrates […]
19th March 2014 The judge at the trial of Simon Welsh, the Balcombe poet arrested at an anti-fracking demonstration while singing a protest song, has retired to consider whether to dismiss the case halfway through. Defence barrister, Tom Wainwright argued there was no case to answer because the […]
19th March 2014 Brighton Magistrates Court heard this morning how poet Simon Welsh was arrested at the Balcombe anti-fracking demonstrations, while leading a group of singers in the Balcombe anthem. This was a protest song written by Mr Welsh and sung to the tune of Jerusalem. Mr Walsh, 34, […]
18th March 2014 The former Chief Constable of Sussex went into the witness box this morning to defend a notice he signed that required people at the Balcombe anti-fracking demonstrations to use a designated protest area. Martin Richards, who retired a week ago from Sussex Police, was giving […]
18th March 2014 The trial starts today of the first Balcombe resident to be arrested at last year’s anti-fracking protests outside Cuadrilla’s oil exploration site in the village. Simon Welsh denies a charge under Section 14 of the Public Order Act of taking part in an assembly but […]
The Chief Constable of Sussex, Martin Richards, will be called to give evidence at an anti-fracking trial, which could become a test case for the use of the Public Order Act against protestors. The case involves poet Simon Welsh, the first Balcombe resident to be arrested during the […]
DRILL OR DROP? 