A retired doctor who was part of the Extinction Rebellion protests at the Houses of Parliament says he has mixed feelings about not being prosecuted following his arrest.
Dr Paul Shepherd, 66, was one of the demonstrators who lay down outside Westminster Palace over the summer.
He likened his breaking of the law to smashing a window in the event of a house fire.
The former GP from Lanchester, County Durham, was detained in October for his protesting alongside hundreds of others.
He was held for 30 hours because he refused to confirm his name and had no identifying documents.
Dr Shepherd had denied a public order offence and was due to stand trial on Monday but before Christmas he heard from his solicitor that the trial was being discontinued.
He was told that the police’s use of certain powers during the protest has been deemed unlawful.
The father-of-three, whose wife, Sonny, was also protesting when he was arrested, said: “I had mixed feelings about it.
“It’s less hassle and cheaper and I don’t have to worry about going down to court, but, against that, I didn’t get my chance to read my statement.”
He would have told the court: “I think that breaking the law is justified in the current crisis, in the same way it is justified to break a window in the case of a house fire.
“I will be unable to look my grandchildren in the eye if, in 20 years’ time when possible hurricanes, floods and sea level rises transform our world, they ask ‘What did you do in the war on climate change?’”
Dr Shepherd said people are starting to see the reality of climate change, but as yet many are unwilling to take the necessary action, and he feels government must take the lead.
