During my sentencing, I was called a fanatic by Judge Hehir. This word was published on the front pages of the national Press. I think I have a right to respond.
For over two decades, I was a farmer in Wales, supplied my community with vegetables, and lived a family life. I worked very hard, paid my taxes, and was no harm to anyone. I was doing my job.
But the politicians were not doing their job. Along with millions of other farmers, I was forced out of business by extreme weather events – months without rain, months with nothing but rain. These are now yearly events.
Central to my personal belief is the idea of balance. I have the same orientation as many traditional conservatives, such as Edmund Burke. Destroying weather systems in order to make money is not balanced; it is a crime.
My political views are rooted in the philosophy of John Locke, the father of classical liberalism. We should live under the rule of law, and so should the government.
Roger Hallam, centre, with other protesters outside Isleworth Crown Court in London after they received suspended sentences for attempting to shut down Heathrow airport in 2019
Judge Hehir called Roger Hallam a ‘fanatic’ during his sentencing
The basis of the law is the welfare of the people. If a regime enables the destruction of the lives and livelihoods of the people, then the government is a tyranny, and the people have the right to rebel. No ‘functioning democracy’ enables the obliteration of our way of life for the next 100,000 years.
Or are we living in ‘1984’, where the consequences of going over two degrees, by burning new oil and gas, is a continuation of the rule of law?
Judge Hehir said in the trial that these effects of what he called ‘climate change’ were ‘neither here nor there’. He was given 250 pages of scientific evidence but refused to change his mind.
Furthermore, he refused to let the jury see that evidence so that they could make up their minds. He merrily declared that the human race going to ‘a fiery end’ was not relevant in a British court.
Can you imagine if he had said that about the 50 million killed in World War II? If he had said that about the millions murdered by the Nazis? John Locke was clear: any government that plans the death of its citizens is breaking the law. In the past, in the present, and in the future. No exceptions.
When our children read about what Judge Hehir said, a decade from now, they will have one word to describe him: fanatic.
