Nine climate protesters have been cleared by a jury of causing £500,000 worth of criminal damage to the windows of HSBC's London headquarters. The women, all members of Extinction Rebellion, used hammers and chisels to shatter the custom-made glass windows on 22 April 2021.
The defendants, aged between 23 and 71, sang and chanted during the early-morning protest. They wore patches reading “better broken windows than broken promises” and placed stickers on the bank's windows stating “£80bn into fossil fuels in the last five years”.
After a three-week trial at Southwark Crown Court, the jury acquitted them of criminal damage. The women had denied the charge, arguing their actions were lawfully justified as part of a protest against HSBC's investments in fossil fuels.
Prosecutor Sally Hobson said the damage cost around £500,000, with additional security measures adding to the expense. She argued there was no lawful excuse for the damage, but the jury disagreed.
Following the verdict, defendant Clare Farrell, an associate lecturer in sustainable fashion, said: “It’s tragically surreal to live in times when the justice system agrees we’re totally fucked but has nothing to say about the cause, the remedy, the victims or the perpetrators.” Fellow defendant Susan Reid added that the verdict shows “ordinary people will not give their consent to the destructive violence of investing in fossil fuels”.
The fashion designer Stella McCartney lent the women clothing to wear during the trial.
