An Extinction Rebellion protestor from Melbourn has been found not guilty of causing more than £500,000 worth of damage to windows at HSBC's headquarters.
Jessica Agar was one of nine defendants accused of breaking windows at the Canary Wharf site, but they were found not guilty after a three-week trial at Southwark Crown Court.
The 23-year-old was accused alongside Blyth Brentnall, Valerie Brown, Eleanor Bujak, Miriam Instone, Tracey Mallaghan, Susan Reid, Samantha Smithson and ER co-founder Clare Farrell, but the jury reached their decision after just two hours of deliberation.
Protestors broke windows at the bank's HQ in Canary Wharf. (Image: PA Images/PA Wire)
The women, who faced up to four years in jail if found guilty, were kitted out for the trial by renowned British fashion designer Stella McCartney, who donated shirts, blazers and suits for them to wear.
Jessica Agar has been in trouble with the law for her climate activities before.
Back in February, she was fined £486 for damaging a copy of Leonardo da Vinci's famous Last Supper painting, after gluing herself to the piece as part of a Just Stop Oil protest.
The artwork is valued at £3.6m and is believed to be the most accurate record of the original.
Jessica Agar during the Just Stop Oil protest. (Image: PA Images)
According to Bank.Green, HSBC is the UK's second largest investor in fossil fuels, and has invested £4.4 trillion into fossil fuels in the seven years since the Paris Climate Agreement - when more than 195 nations pledged to keep global temperatures below 1.5 degrees.
"This was a trial of unusual agreement, the facts of the day were not in any dispute, and the fact that we’re on course for civilizational breakdown and climate collapse seemed strangely not to be in dispute either," said ER co-founder Clare Farrell.
"It’s tragically surreal to live in times when the justice system agrees we’re totally f***** but has nothing to say about the cause, the remedy, the victims or the perpetrators. We must continue, we will."
Fellow defendant, Susan Reid, added: "I have spent my life caring for the people around me and I refused to stand by while HSBC poured money into the very thing we know is causing unimaginable harm.
"The jury’s verdict today shows that ordinary people will not give their consent to the destructive violence of investing in fossil fuels in 2023."
HSBC are one of the UK's biggest investors in fossil fuels. (Image: PA Images/PA Wire)
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