Three Greenpeace protesters have been charged with criminal damage following a stunt at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s £2million mansion in North Yorkshire.
Mathieu Soete, 40, of Hackney, London, Alexandra Wilson, 32, and Amy Rugg-Easey, 33, both of Shiremoor, North Tyneside, have all been charged following the protest on August 3 last year.
A fourth suspect is due to answer bail at a later date. All three will appear at York Magistrates’ Court on March 21.
The charges relate to a stunt in which four activists climbed atop the Prime Minister’s Yorkshire mansion while he and his family were away on holiday in the US.
Police arrived on the scene at 8am, around two hours after the protesters first arrived.
Greenpeace activists on the roof of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s house in North Yorkshire on August 3
The Greenpeace activists unfurled banners and black fabric across the front of the mansion
The group unfurled black fabric from atop the house to cover it in darkness, along with signs reading ‘No New Oil’.
At the same time, two further activists on the ground unfurled a banner featuring the words ‘Rishi Sunak – Oil Profits or Our Future?’ across the grass in front of the house.
The incident prompted serious questions about how the group was able to carry out the stunt so easily, with former North Yorkshire Deputy Chief Constable Peter Walker saying it was a ‘major breach of security’.
The Grade II-listed property, which was built in 1826, was purchased by Mr Sunak after he became the Conservative MP for the Richmond constituency in 2015.
At the time Greenpeace insisted the activists were aware that Mr Sunak was not in – and also knew how to climb up safely and how to avoid causing damage to the property.
It came after Mr Sunak confirmed 100 new licences for the oil and gas industries were to be issued at a time when environmentalists are calling for a halt to the use of fossil fuels due to the worsening impacts of climate change.
Rosemary Ainslie, Head of the CPS Special Crime Division, said: ‘Following a review of the evidence provided by North Yorkshire Police, we have authorised criminal charges against one man and two women after a protest at the home of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on 3 August 2023.
‘Mathieu Soete, 38, Amy Rugg-Easey, 33, and Alexandra Wilson, 32, will each be charged with a single count of criminal damage, and will appear at York Magistrates’ Court on 21 March.
‘The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against the three defendants are active and that they have the right to a fair trial.
‘It is extremely important there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.’
Mr Evans, Greenpeace UK’s climate campaigner, said at the time: ‘We desperately need our Prime Minister to be a climate leader, not a climate arsonist.
‘Just as wildfires and floods wreck homes and lives around the world, Sunak is committing to a massive expansion of oil and gas drilling.
‘He seems quite happy to hold a blowtorch to the planet if he can score a few political points by sowing division around climate in this country. This is cynical beyond belief.
‘Sunak is even willing to peddle the old myth about new oil and gas helping ordinary people struggling with energy bills when he knows full well it’s not true.
‘More North Sea drilling will only benefit oil giants who stand to make even more billions from it, partly thanks to a giant loophole in Sunak’s own windfall tax.
‘The experts are clear – we can’t afford any new oil and gas, and the fossil fuel industry certainly doesn’t need another helping hand in destroying the climate.
‘What we need is a clean, affordable energy system fit for the 21st century. It’s time for Sunak to choose between Big Oil’s profits or our future on a habitable planet.’
This is a breaking news story and is being updated.