A RETIRED GP arrested while taking part in Extinction Rebellion 'climate crisis' protests in London has spoken of his disappointment at not having his day in court after charges against him were dropped.

Dr Paul Shepherd, of Lanchester, County Durham, was facing a trial for a public order offence after he sat down in the road in the place of protestor who had just been arrested last October. Hundreds of protesters had charges against them discontinued after a ban forbidding the protest was ruled unlawful.

The activist, whose wife Sonny and three adult children are also members of Extinction Rebellion, was held for over 30 hours when he refused to give the police his name. He was hoping to be detained for a number of weeks to make his point.

Dr Shepherd said: “I pleaded not guilty to the charge last year and my trial date was set for Monday. So I have been basically let, off ready to fight another day.

“I have mixed feelings about the charges being dropped. It saves me a lot of time and money and the the hassle of going down to London.

“But the other thing is I wanted to be in court so I could read out my statement to make my point, which was the purpose of it. I was a little bit disappointed that I did not get my day in court to argue my case.”

Dr Shepherd, who worked as an NHS GP for 40 years and spent two years volunteering as an overseas doctor in Papua New Guinea, said he would have told the court his actions were “proportionate response to the climate crisis”.

His statement said: “I care for people deeply and the issues that effect their well-being. For the past 20 years I have become more aware of climate change issues and the potential therefore of great harm to people and nature. This awareness has become a reality as proven by scientific observations and predictions.

“My response has been to stop flying. I have purchased land to provide a community orchard and allotments, in order to reduce food miles and CO2 production.

“I have also self-built a passive house that has just been completed. I hoped that my response of reducing my own carbon footprint would have been replicated by the majority of people in the light the scientific knowledge of climate change.”

He added: “Sadly this has not happened and as CO2 levels continue to rise, political leadership has only provided a token response and has failed to act proportionately to the dangerous and catastrophic situation that is evolving.”

Dr Shepherd said he believed that mass mobilisation and switching of resources was required and citizens’ assemblies were needed as an alternative to the “inertia of the current status quo governance”.

He intended to tell the court: “I think that breaking the law is justified in the current crisis, in the same way in the same way it is justified to break a window in the case of a house fire. I will be unable to look my grandchildren in the eye if, in 20 years time when possible hurricanes, floods and sea level rises transform our world - when they ask what did you do in the war on climate change?”