Dartford Crossing protester, possible deportation

[WildAlphabet]

Essex radio did an interview with the partner of a protester who climbed the dartford bridge as part of Just Stop Oil.

The gist of it is he was surprised to get three years in prison, they expected a few months. The length of his sentence means he’s facing deportation, as a German national.

They did a phone in, and I was quite surprised that even the angry radio essex listeners they put on, who were massively against his actions, disagreed with deportation as additional punishment. Some wanted community service to make up for the loss they suffered, others name called, but they thought splitting a family was too much.

I was kind of intrigued how the mumsnet demographic would view it, often being quite rule-bound or conservative. Personally I disagree with the one year rule for deportation, particularly for non violent crimes. It’s out of sync with most of the world. I guess also as a second generation immigrant who could also potentially lose the right to stay here if wrongly convicted, it’s scary on a personal level. It’s played on my mind the last few days

Here’s an article https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-66756841.amp

He chose to break the law, as an adult he accepts the consequences

How is he of no fixed address, but her partner?
How could you lose your right to live here if you are a second generation immigrant? Closing roads seems to be a game to them. It must have been terrifying for the heavily pregnant women needing treatment on the other side. I support deportation. I think that the issue was their sentence which put them into the deportation category.

I was caught up in the traffic that those idiots caused. If deportation is a consequence of his selfish actions then so be it!

"Essex Police said the people affected by the disruption included a heavily pregnant woman who needed urgent medical help, and a person who missed their best friend's funeral, and a business which lost more than £160,000 in earnings."

I was working at an event where extinction rebellion caused disruption outside (I know they weren't XR but they all work together). They refused to let through Ambulances that were on blues and twos.

No sympathy from me!

I hold another country’s citizenship, in previous cases there has been revocation of British citizenship when gained not as an infant.

I was personally also shocked at a 3 year sentence, like they were. I mean multiple men in the same year were convicted of rape and got a shorter sentence. It’s nearly the average for manslaughter by negligence. I don’t agree with him, but it seems surprisingly harsh to get a sentence up there with someone who has actually directly harmed or killed

Seems fine to me.

I’ve lived in a number of different countries that would see deportation as the soft option. Certainly better than jail or other punishments used on those countries.

If you can’t respect the laws of a country then don’t chose to live there.

I do think we have lost sight of how incredibly privileged we are to live in a western democracy with the rule of law.

I don’t think you should object to the length of his sentence, you should object to the shortness of rapists’ sentences!

This supports my argument that rapists should be charged for every crime they commit in the course of rape, not just the rape itself (so carrying a weapon, threatening with a weapon, abduction, assault, bodily harm etc)

I disagree with the one year sentence because it means someone can be deported after the magistrates court, which is frankly a mess. Ordinarily people handing out sentences, not the judiciary and people subject to some appalling practice with poor legal advice and process.
It’s disproportionate for splitting families apart and ruining lives.

I hold another country’s citizenship, in previous cases there has been revocation of British citizenship when gained not as an infant.

that would first, not second, generation.

He’s from a western democracy, Germany. I’m from a European democracy. Both would afford a British national the right to stay in the same circumstances. Until Brexit he would not have faced this. It’s us out of step with western democracy rights.

There has been no mention of a family on the news reports, only a ‘partner’ that he seems not to have been living with.

If your parents never claimed citizenship you do not have it at birth. Not all second generation have parents who have claimed British citizenship. Some were on indefinite leave to remain, some were living here as EU nationals and others were on successive visas such as student/ work combos.

I seem to remember reading that the knock on effects of that protest were possible factors in the death of a couple of people on another nearby motorway.

I have no sympathy for the man if he gets deported. None whatsoever.

I was intrigued to know if mumsnet were more right wing/ hardline/ conservative than bbc Essex listeners- traditionally quite so, and certainly those who phoned in were in the the views they generally expressed.
I thought maybe so.

He is a criminal, he gave up his job as a musician to join just stop oil.

He shouldn't have committed the crime and he wouldn't be in this position, and I don't give a toss about his partner losing him without.

But the court isn't splitting families. The idiots that choose to break the law knowing that's a consequence are taking that risk.
If he didn't want to risk being deported he shouldn't have broken the law. It seems a fairly binary choice to me. He even discussed with his partner doing something a bit daft and going to jail. Therefore choosing to increase the burden on the courts and prison service and thinking it was a viable option. It backfired spectacularly and I hope he gets deported.

He’s from a western democracy, Germany. I’m from a European democracy. Both would afford a British national the right to stay in the same circumstances. Until Brexit he would not have faced this. It’s us out of step with western democracy rights.

More fool them. Not all western democracies allow that. See Australia, NZ, US etc.

I believe it ties into ‘good character’.

These kinds of laws have been applied to people from the Caribbean for a decade. Families split on deportation fit minor crimes less than this case.

The UK can revoke your ILR too for criminal conduct, so that you can be deported. It's not a protection. For that you need British citizenship

He’s not a British citizen at all though. That’s an entirely different thing from stripping someone of their citizenship.

im generally quite pro immigration but no problem with deportation of serious criminals.

It’s been heavily disproportionate for many young Jamaican men raised here. The consequences of being removed from the only country they know to Jamaica is horrendous. Many were near children, had mental health needs untreated and unrecognised. Totally failed.
Its nothing to do with being European

Are they a family? Or is she the gf of a homeless activist? No kids? Is he already breaking visa or citizenship terms by his actions?

Actually he could be excluded and entry denied on the basis of criminal convictions even if we were still in the eu.

There is also many cases of these men involved in violent crime and rape who are removed, it's no bad thing removing criminals from this country.

To be honest though we are talking about serious criminals here. As a society we are better off without such people. It might not be nice for them but it’s a forseeeable consequence of their actions.

I think it's the height of rudeness to turn up in a foreign country, shit on it repeatedly (this wasn't his first rodeo), and expect to be able to stay.
Utterly entitled, in fact.