The eco-terrorists of Extinction Rebellion have been a massive pain in the arse for Londoners over the last few years. These self entitled thugs, mostly it seems to offspring of the wealthy and well connected, have brought misery to anybody in the capital who wants to get to work, get to hospital or, until they were given a much needed correction by members of the public, travelling on DLR trains.

There have been many calls for exemplary punishments to be handed out to Extinction Rebellion because of the damage and destruction they cause. Therefore I was delighted to hear that three of their number have been convicted at the City of London Magistrates Court for acts of vandalism against the offices of the Global Warming Policy Foundation in London’s Tufton Street.

Unfortunately my delight at the conviction was short lived when I read about the derisory, tap on the wrist sentences. According to Guido these sentences were a £200 fine and a six month conditional discharge for each of the three Extinction Rebellion thugs. What a bloody joke. It’s a piss take. They committed damage to someone else’s property and I’d expect a much greater sentence than that.

I suspect that in this case the magistrates might be lefties or at least in some way sympathetic to the Extinction Rebellion cause as I doubt very much that such low and soft sentences would be imposed on those taking similar action or a right wing cause. Granted that this offence might have been one where little damage was done but there was no doubt planning involved in it. The ‘planning’ aspect of this crime could, especially as this was criminal damage being done in the support of a political aim, have caused this case to cross the custody threshold according to the sentencing guidelines. I find it strange the magistrates did not impose a gaol sentence even one that was suspended.

This case and the way it has been handled looks bent, feels bent and smells bent. Even if it is not that way it certainly gives the impression that it is. Here we have protestors, who I have little doubt come from wealthy or at least comfortable backgrounds, who are being indulged by magistrates and given soft sentences that would not I believe be applied to working class defendants. This is a situation where well heeled vandals are treated with kid gloves whilst less well heeled protestors whose causes are less fashionable with the elites are treated harshly. Ladies and Gentlemen, I do believe that we’ve seen at the City of London Magistrates Court some of those ‘Victorian Values’ we keep learning about in action.