Catalogue Number
NMLH.2024.4.1
Object Name
banner
Title
'Defending the earth is not a crime. Justice for the Twyford 2'
People
Earth First, Twyford 2; Twyford Rising
Events
Twyford 2 trial
Date
1998
Description
A banner proclaiming 'Defending the earth is not a crime. Justice for the Twyford 2'.
The banner was created to protest the arrest of environmental activists who were protesting against the building of the M3 motorway on the Twyford Down chalkland in Hampshire. Protestors were concerned about increased pollution from the new road, and that rare wildlife would go extinct without the chalklands. As well as risking arrest, protestors against the road building experienced physical violence from security guards, with the government (who are responsible for road building and had ultimate responsibility for hiring the guards) refusing to intervene to stop the violence. These protests were ultimately unsuccessful, and the motorway was completed in 1995. However, the legacy of the protests established the legal right for protesters to have a witness present while being questioned by police. The rights to legal observers at protests was confirmed, after protester Stephen Ward (23 June 1933-8 December 2002) began taking notes to document arrests, appearing as a witness for
activists in many court prosecutions.
'Earth First!' is an anarchist environmental activist group that has been active in the UK since 1991, as a branch of a global network that originated in the United States in the 1970s. Earth First is a non-hierarchical organisation which means anyone sharing their beliefs can set up a group using the name - there is no central organising team. Earth First activists have been practicing direct action protesting to oppose activities they feel are responsible for destroying the earth like logging, peat harvesting and road building.
A collage created by Earth First depicting direct action in support of the environment in the 1990s is also held by PHM [NMLH.2024.4.2].
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