Three Greenpeace activists who draped oil-black fabric over the side of Rishi Sunak’s North Yorkshire mansion, in a protest responding to his promise to “max out” UK oil and gas reserves, have been charged with criminal damage.
Mathieu Soete, 38, of Hackney in east London, and Amy Rugg-Easey, 33, and Alexandra Wilson, 32, of Shiremoor, North Tyneside, were each charged with a single count of criminal damage over the stunt at the prime minister’s family residence last August.
They are due to appear at York magistrates court on 21 March. A fourth individual is due to answer bail “at a later date”, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
Sunak, his wife and their daughters were on summer holiday in California when five activists were arrested for carrying out the stunt in Kirby Sigston, near Northallerton.
After scaling the house using ladders and climbing ropes in the early hours of the morning, activists on the roof unfurled 200 sq metres of fabric, covering a whole side of the house, while two more standing on the lawn in front of the building unfurled a banner saying: “Rishi Sunak – Oil Profits or Our Future?”
Rosemary Ainslie, the 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.
“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.”
