Retired GP Diana Warner has been sentenced today to a two year conditional discharge and required to pay £4,380 in court costs after being found guilty of obstruction of a railway line that carries trees to be burned at Drax, the UK’s single biggest carbon emitter.
Following the sentencing, in a statement outside the court Diana said: ‘I trespassed on network rail land and stopped a train heading to the Drax power station for thirty seconds to a minute. I was drawing attention to what most people now know; Drax power station adds to the mass death and destruction caused by climate change and pollution.
Today I have been given a conditional discharge. Drax power station is able to continue operating and at the same time it receives government subsidies. This doesn’t make sense to me.’
Diana went on to say:
“What happens when jurors are told that they must act against their conscience?
This is an attack on the very basis most of us live by – that human life and wellbeing are of utmost importance, and that the rights to life and health are respected in law.
This is the time, more than ever, we all need to hold firm to our conscience. We need to act according to our moral principles for the safety of our lives and the lives of our children.”
In the three day trail the Jury heard how she took to the railway on 14th Dec 2021 to draw attention to the climate emergency and highlight the destructive practices of the controversial power station. The court heard that the train was disrupted for less than 1 minute.
The Jury found it difficult to find a verdict, asking the judge “As a matter of conscience we are finding it difficult to come to a verdict. What should we do?” Judge Kearl KC instructed the jury to try the case on evidence not conscience, replying “You have all taken an oath or affirmation to try this case on the evidence not your conscience”
Diana’s full statement is available here: Dr Diana Warner full statement for press following sentencing – 25.03.25
Contact: media@axedrax.uk
Spokespeople available on request.
Photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Eh25LpSwbeifcWC_-URikv5xrfG-GD4k?usp=sharing
Axe Drax
Axe Drax is a UK based grassroots network that actively opposes Drax through disruptive direct action. We campaign for an end to Drax’s subsidies, due to the environmental, societal and planetary impacts of burning trees for energy. We are building a broad based network, working in solidarity with frontline communities to effectively confront the environmentally destructive biomass industry and the social and economic forces driving climate change.
Drax
Drax Power Station, located near Selby in Yorkshire, is the world’s biggest woody biomass power station and the UK’s single largest carbon emitter. Drax sources from around the world, primarily the US, Canada, and the Baltic States. Drax’s wood pellet production sites, predominantly located in environmental justice communities, emit large amounts of pollutants, such as PM10, PM2.5 and VOCs which are linked to respiratory and pulmonary health impacts. Woody biomass is counted as carbon neutral by the UK Government, allowing Drax to receive renewable energy subsidies (CfDs and ROCs).
Website: https://axedrax.uk
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