Climate activists in frame for £1m costs of protest bans run up by UK’s biggest law firm

Banners at Euston station in London during a protest against HS2 in 2021. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/Reuters

Britain’s biggest law firm has sought more than £1m from climate protesters to cover the cost of court orders banning them from protesting, an investigation has found.

The multibillion-pound City law firm DLA Piper has been trying to recover costs from activists for work done on behalf of National Highways Limited (NHL) and HS2 Ltd – both public bodies – obtaining injunctions banning protests on their sites.

Courts have so far ordered activists to pay hundreds of thousands of pounds to NHL and HS2 to reimburse them for DLA Piper’s costs.

Reporters from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) scoured court records to collate the sums claimed by DLA Piper to cover costs incurred by the law firm for its clients, which included fees of £350 an hour for providing legal advice, £75,000 for a single hearing and £2,500 for drawing up a document listing its fees.

Barristers said costs incurred by City law firms such as DLA Piper far exceeded those incurred by in-house solicitors at public bodies or local authorities, ratcheting up the risk of large costs to protesters.

NHL and HS2 hired DLA Piper in 2021 for legal work that included applying for injunctions – court orders prohibiting certain actions – against more than 200 activists, primarily from Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain, to ban them from protesting on and around motorways and high-speed rail construction sites.

In the case of the NHL injunction, most obeyed but have nevertheless been chased for thousands of pounds in costs.

One woman who did break the injunction told TBIJ that her income meant it would take her eight years to pay off the costs of about £5,000 that had been sought against her. Another of those targeted was Louise Lancaster, who continued to protest and received a 42-day suspended sentence in 2022 alongside an order to pay £22,000 in costs. Lancaster was jailed last month for coordinating disruptive protests on the M25 as part of Just Stop Oil.

Adam Wagner, a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, said: “You might have a protester who, for the same action, is convicted of a criminal offence, has an injunction taken out against them with the risk of contempt of court proceedings if they breach it, and faces huge costs. It’s like triple jeopardy.”

The largest single sum sought by DLA Piper was £727,573.84, which covered multiple claims on behalf of NHL against about 140 protesters who blocked the M25 and surrounding roads. That sum was eventually reduced by a judge to £580,000, and a later settlement offer sought about £3,000 from each campaigner to end the case, which was accepted by most.

DLA Piper has also pursued a further £75,891.84 from protesters who disputed the renewal of the injunction.

In separate proceedings, at which NHL pursued 12 protesters for contempt of court after they broke the M25 injunctions, an offence that can mean jail time, DLA Piper listed £229,525.35 in costs, bringing the total to about £1m.

On behalf of HS2, DLA Piper pursued £70,216 in costs against five defendants, all of whom broke injunctions. The sums include barristers’ fees.

A DLA Piper spokesperson said: “The firm supports the right to protest lawfully and recognises the need to build a sustainable future. But any change must be brought around in compliance with the law, for the protection of the country and protesters. The firm is one of the world’s largest legal advisers to the renewable energy industry and is recognised for advising on more renewable energy deals and projects than any other law firm.”

A spokesperson for HS2 Ltd said: “We support the right to lawful protest. We have only taken legal action where there has been illegal direct action against HS2. Unlawful action against HS2 has cost taxpayers over £150m and put the lives of protesters, the public and our own workforce in great danger. Since the high court granted a route-wide injunction to protect the HS2 project from unlawful activity we have seen a significant decline in illegal activity.”

In June NHL awarded DLA Piper a further £650,000 contract to provide legal services related to injunctions against protesters.

An NHL spokesperson said: “Our primary concern is always safety. Protesting on motorways and major A-roads is extremely dangerous for both the protesters and motorists. It’s right that dangerous and reckless protesters who disrupt our roads should face the necessary consequences; anyone intending to protest on roads protected by an injunction should know they run the risk of imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.

“These orders are intended to dissuade people from risking lives, not to prohibit lawful protest. As a government-owned company funded by public money, costs recovery is an important aspect of ensuring public funds are protected.”