trials

James Hansen in conversation outside Maidstone Crown Court © Rezac/Greenpeace

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This is a difficult blog to write - mostly because I'm not sure what to leave out. Today, at the Kingsnorth trial, the world's leading climate scientist told the court that emissions from Kingsnorth led to damage to property worldwide, as well as the extinction of species and the creation of climate change refugees. Gordon Brown, he said, should announce a moratorium on all new coal plants without carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Another witness - an authority on climate change impacts in the UK - said all citizens and governments needed to "act with urgency". And two of the defendants, Emily and Kevin, gave impressive testimonies about why they took the action they did. And there's nowhere near enough space to write about it all.

Defendent Ben Stewart

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It's hard to say whether there were more or fewer nerves on the way to court today. On the one hand all the defendants now feel - visibly - more comfortable with the court surroundings than they were at the start of the proceedings yesterday.

On the other hand, today was the day some of them were going to take the stand for the first time. Either way, listening to the Star Wars theme tune blaring over the radio as we made our way to Maidstone in the minibus could only be a good thing for morale.

We filed into the court room at around 11am. By 11.30 - after circulating some documents to the jurors - the prosecution had closed; it was the turn of the defence.

The defendant's QC, Michael Wolkind, is a pleasure to watch at work. He started by introducing six "of the nicest people... accused of saving the planet".

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Just a quick blog to break the news: the world's leading climate scientist, Professor James Hansen - a director of NASA - is going to appear tomorrow afternoon as a defence witness in the Kingsnorth trial.

Professor Hansen is Al Gore's science adviser and a former adviser to the White House on climate change. I'll be reporting on his statement to the court tomorrow.

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This morning, the Kingsnorth Six - plus a few hangers on like myself - made their way from a rural Kent retreat to Maidstone Crown Court for the start of the Kingsnorth trial.

I've spent the day watching the proceedings from the public gallery. (It's my first time in a Crown Court and I'm pleased to report that it's all true: the court really does all rise, there are curly wigs, and barristers really do look up the finer points of law in thick legal compendia.)

Actually, the whole experience is fascinating; the careful negotiations, the nuances of argument and the hints of theatricality have all left me a little agog. And having a friend's-eye view of the defendants and their motives makes it pretty poignant too.

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Meet the defendants in the Kingsnorth Six trial:

Kevin Drake
Kevin Drake is 44 and lives in a Wiltshire village with his wife and daughter. He is a freelance industrial rope access safety supervisor. Kev is a proud father and values humour and family life, and enjoys being outdoors and likes interacting with the natural world through activities such as caving, camping, rock climbing and body boarding. He has been volunteering for Greenpeace for ten years.

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On Monday, six brave Greenpeace souls will be appearing at Maidstone Crown Court for the start of a trial centring around Kingsnorth, coal and climate change.

In October last year, they took a personal stand to protect the environment and climbed to the top of the smokestack at Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in Kent.

Now, the Kingsnorth Six (Ben Stewart, Emily Hall, Huw Williams, Kevin Drake, Tim Hewke and Will Rose) are being prosecuted for criminal damage.