Activists plead guilty after Grangemouth protest

Five people have pleaded guilty after a protest at the Grangemouth oil refinery.

Members of environmental campaign group This Is Rigged blockaded the site in July 2023.

Fuel was unable to leave the site.

Twenty people were arrested in total.

Speaking about why he took action, Sam Griffiths said:

“I was scared about protesting at Grangemouth Refinery. I was more terrified about what fossil fuelled climate collapse will mean for my son. I still am. This and other actions show it is possible for ordinary people to stop oil, if only for a matter of hours. It is symbolic of what we need to do as a society to protect our children and their future. It's a privilege to be judged by a jury of ordinary people. We all have a choice, to do what we're told, or to act in line with our conscience.”

In a video released by This is Rigged on social media prior to the trial, Lewis Conroy said

“Me and 4 other people ran into the Grangemouth oil terminal and occupied the oil pipes. We were expecting to get rugby tackled or something, but we all made it and put our bodies on the gears. Ten hours later Police Scotland took us to jail.”

“I did it to make a point: people in this country are capable of making these changes. When you look at [these actions] together you can see how they all build and build and build on one another and lead to a tipping point where social change does actually take place.”