After the recent acquittal of climate activists by a crown court jury, it’s clear public sentiment is on their side

In the face of resistance by juries, surely there is a strong case to halt all the pending trials of Extinction Rebellion activists? With nearly a thousand trials still waiting to be heard in the courts, six members of the group were recently acquitted at Southwark crown court in XR’s second trial by a jury.

They had been charged with criminal damage against the oil giant Shell, yet the jury decided that all six were not guilty, despite the judge ruling that only one had any kind of defence in law.

Lord Hain is a former Labour cabinet minister and anti-apartheid campaigner