4pm UPDATE: Four climate activists are on trial this morning over a protest at Barclays in Brighton last year.
Susan Williams, 68, John Kennedy, 44, Nicola Harries, 68, and Ian Macintyre, 63, are all charged with obstructing or disrupting a person engaged in a lawful activity.
They are said to have done this when they chained themselves to people and to the railings of the Barclays branch in North Street, Brighton, on 14 November last year.
Williams, of Prestonville Road, Kennedy, of Hanover Terrace, Harries, of Preston Park Avenue and Macintyre, of Belgrave Street, all deny the charges.
Although they accept they chained themselves to the rail, a sign was displayed telling people they could use the side entrance.
Prosecuting at Brighton Magistrates Court this morning, Alan Balneaves said: “During the court of the trial we will hear from a number of witnesses who will confirm that people were at times directed to use the side entrance.
“By blocking the main entrance, it’s causing disruption to those in the bank because they’re naturally concerned about what’s happening outside.
“This is not about whether people are allowed to protest – of course they are. It’s the manner they’re protesting in.”
The court heard from Sergeant Mark Redbourne, who had been at the two-hour protest, and was shown footage from his body worn video camera.
In the footage, you could hear Sgt Radbourne telling a passer-by he could use the side entrance, and see one woman going under the chains to enter the bank, loudly muttering “completely unnecessary” as she passed the protesters.
He was also heard warning the four defendants on several occasions that if they didn’t modify their protest by unlocking one end of the chain from the handrail, they would be arrested.
He told the court: “It was fairly clear that people entering and leaving the bank were not able to do so easily. There were people coming up to me and people who were not trying to get to the doors.”
In the footage, one protester could be heard shouting: “We are Extinction Rebellion” and a large banner saying Stop Funding Fossil Fuels was attached to railings on the edge of the pavement outside the bank.
After about an hour and 20 minutes, Sussex Police’s tactical enforcement unit arrive, and the group is arrested, surrounded by people holding cameras.
Bank manager Claire Snowdon told the court the bank had been targeted by protesters several times before last November, but had previously been “pretty decent”.
But this time, the protest went too far. She said: “It just inconveniences our customers at the end of the day. They’re our prime concern. It was obviously causing some distress.
“My job is to make sure customers are looked after. For some customers it’s a really big deal to come into our bank. If they’re in financial difficulty, it can take a lot of courage to come.
“When they’re faced with that it becomes a bigger thing than what they have come in for and I don’t think that’s fair.
“Concentration is the biggest thing – I have got police coming in and out and lots of noise.
“I’m dealing with lots of money at some points in the day when you are trusting someone with your money you have to be able to feel happy with that.
“When we have got lots of noise and hustle and bustle going on, it’s quite off-putting.
“There was one gentleman who sticks in my mind – an elderly, stubborn gentleman who decided he was going to go under over over the chains. He could have tripped up.”
The trial continues.
“Deny the charges” – did they see the photograph above ?
“Although they accept they chained themselves to the rail, a sign was displayed telling people they could use the side entrance” – did you see the words underneath the picture?
But they did block the entrance – not sure what they intended to achieve.
Indeed George, as much as the cause might be noble, one needs to think intelligently about how to achieve it. Causing a minor inconvenience to the end customer is going to be simply forgotten instantly.