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âNOT GUILTY!â Exclusive by Greg Hadfield
Green MP Caroline Lucas is to fight charges resulting from her arrest at an âanti-frackingâ protest at Balcombe. She has decided to plead not guilty at a hearing next week and face the ordeal of a trial, which is not expected to take place until next year, Brighton & Hove Independent can reveal. Dr Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, was arrested with 29 other protesters and subsequently charged with obstructing the highway and failing to comply with police instructions imposed on the protest. Her decision to fight the charges is disclosed in an open letter to her constituents, in which she explains what led her to do what she did outside the Cuadrilla drilling site at Balcombe, West Sussex. In the letter, which we publish exclusively today on page 10, Dr Lucas says: âThe campaign to reduce the threat of climate change has been incredibly important to me
Caroline Lucas faces two charges over âanti-frackingâ protest at Balcombe
throughout my political life.â Dr Lucas - who is being advised by Kellys Solicitors, of Brighton - is expected to enter her not guilty plea at a hearing at Crawley Magistratesâ Court on Wednesday (October 16). She is charged with one count of breaching Section 14 of the Public Order Act and one count of wilful obstruction of the highway. Both offences are alleged to have taken place on August 19. In her open letter, she alludes
to Mahatma Gandhiâs belief that âsilence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordinglyâ; she also assures constituents her work as an MP will not be affected. She concludes: âThere is a proud tradition of non-violent direct action in this country. In joining the peaceful protest, I wanted to send a clear message to the government, and to support the people at the proposed fracking site in Balcombe
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who were standing up to be counted.â Last night, political rivals were reluctant to be drawn on Dr Lucasâs decision while legal proceedings continued. Clarence Mitchell, the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Brighton Pavilion, said: âVoters in Brighton Pavilion would want her to be working on behalf of the constituency â not getting arrested for whatever reason, in whatever cause.â