A VICAR from Oxfordshire has been jailed for 14 days for gluing himself to furniture at the City of London Magistrates' Court.

Reverend Tim Hewes, 70, and fellow Extinction Rebellion member Ben Buse were arrested for contempt of court after their protest against the court’s ‘complicity with the Government’s lack of action on the climate emergency’.

The retired dental surgeon Rev Hewes, who presides at St Mary’s Convent in the town, filmed Mr Buse as he delivered a strong-worded speech about climate justice in the magistrates court on Thursday.

Both were then given two-weeks sentences.

Speaking on the day of his arrest, the 70-year-old campaigner explained why he took such drastic action.

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He said: “Our planet is being choked with carbon dioxide emissions, covered in tarmac, plundered of its limited resources, the deep oceans filled with plastic, biodiversity squandered by a shameful disregard for the integrity and preciousness of all non-human creatures, with forests burned for soya crops to produce industrial beef and other forests inhabited by primates felled for replanting for palm oil production, to make our food and toiletries smoother and ‘nicer’.

“This is why I protested today.

“Police are being instructed to crack down on lawful protest and the courts instructed to ignore the fact that our world in on fire.

“Meanwhile, law-abiding citizens are criminalised for justified and legal protest – as the only way remaining to draw attention to the impending catastrophe.”

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However, Rev Hewes is no stranger to climate change demonstrations.

Earlier this month he was found guilty of obstruction of the highway at the same London court.

He was among a number of Oxfordshire activists who were arrested in the capital in October 2019 as part of mass climate protests, which blocked several main roads in Westminster.

Rev Hewes was given six months conditional discharge and ordered to pay £250 court costs for that demonstration.

Speaking about the journey that led him to that protest, he said: “I have written numerous letters to politicians and church leaders, had meetings with my MP, all prior to going to London on the day I was arrested.

“My action was to lie down in a street with no traffic.

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“I did not glue myself to anything, nor was I aggressive or belligerent.”

The vicar also reflected on what had changes since hist arrest in 2019.

He said: “Scientists are warning about tipping points and unstoppable feedback loops.

“The voice of scientists in the UK and across the globe have been disregarded.

“Sir David Attenborough gets the same treatment.

“He is listened to, hands are wrung, promises are made and the build back greener shop window titivated, but inside – there is nothing on the shelves.

“My hope and my prayer is that Parliament will come to a cross-party agreement on dealing with this issue.”