SIX Extinction Rebellion protesters on trial for blockading the printing presses of some of Britain’s major newspapers were found guilty today.

The activists appeared at St Albans Magistrates’ Court accused of obstructing the highway outside Newsprinters printing works in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, on September 4 2020.

Judge Sally Fudge convicted the defendants, saying that while the demonstration was “peaceful” it had a significant impact on the ability of businesses to function and caused newspapers to lose an estimated £1 million.

The court heard how through the night of September 4 until the next day, about 50 XR members used vehicles and bamboo structures, known as “lock-ons,” to deny access to or from the Broxbourne site. The protest lasted 14 hours.

Those involved were targeting certain parts of the print media which, according to the defendants, “fail to accurately report on the climate crisis and are guilty of corruption.”

The Newsprinters presses publish Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp’s titles including the Sun, Times, Sun On Sunday and Sunday Times, as well as the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, the Daily Mail and Mail On Sunday, and the London Evening Standard.

The defendants were Caspar Hughes, 49, of Exeter; Elise Yarde, 32, of Walthamstow; Amir Jones, 39, of London; Laura Frandsen, 30, of London; Charlotte Kirin, 51, of Bury St Edmunds and Hazel Stenson, 56, of Bury St Edmunds.

All six defendants, apart from Frandsen, were given a conditional discharge for 12 months and ordered to pay £150 to the court and a £22 surcharge.

Frandsen, who has two previous convictions for similar offences, was ordered to pay a financial penalty of £150, and to pay the court £150 with a surcharge of £34.

Extinction Rebellion said it is considering an appeal against the convictions.