S2E1: Protest

S2, EPISODE ONE: PROTEST

Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/gpGead_dPeI

Listen here: https://pod.link/1709853053

In this week's episode, Adam Wagner and Francesca Cociani join Tom to discuss the law on protest.

They explore how far a protestor accused of a crime may have a legal defence to an action which they believe is morally justified. They look at when, outside the criminal law, a court can prevent protest through so-called "protest injunctions". And they'll consider the story of Dr Sarah Benn, a GP suspended by a Medical Practitioner Tribunal for engaging in direct action outside an oil terminal, who believes that public confidence in the medical profession is only enhance by doctors taking such action.

Adam Wagner is a barrister specialising in human rights, public law, and public inquiries. He regularly acts for protestors including in leading cases during the pandemic, such as for the organisers of the Sarah Everard vigil in their successful judicial review of the Met Police. He has also acted in a number of leading cases on protest injunctions.

Francesca Cociani is a Senior Associate in the criminal defence department at Hodge Jones & Allen. She is heavily involved in protest cases in both the magistrates and Crown Court. Recently she represented one of the defendants charged with criminal damage from the Just Stop Oil protest at the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible in Sheffield in 2023.

Dr Sarah Benn is a GP, retired but on the Register of Medical Practitioners, who protests in relation to climate change. She was the subject of fitness to practise proceedings in April 2024, receiving a suspension. She believes that governments are not doing enough - quickly enough - to mitigate the effects of global warming.