Peaceful climate protest in the UK is being policed much more heavily than far-right activism, with environmental activists charged at three times the rate of far-right agitators, new data obtained by Global Witness reveals.
The analysis found that nearly 7,000 climate protesters overall were arrested between 2019 and mid-2025, according to Freedom of Information disclosures by the Metropolitan Police. Around 60% percent of those arrestees were subsequently charged.
In comparison, only around 400 far-right agitators were arrested over the same period. And they were charged only around 32% of the time – despite far-right activists being more likely to be arrested for violent crimes – while climate activists were overwhelmingly detained for peaceful acts of civil disobedience.
When looking only at the comparative charge rates since 2022, when the UK government introduced new policing powers around protest, the difference is even more stark.
Of the 2,226 climate activists arrested in London between 2022 and mid 2025 for participating in peaceful protest, around three-quarters were subsequently charged. This was over three times the rate of prosecutions of far-right activists arrested over the same period. Of 309 arrests of far-right protesters, less than a quarter were ultimately charged, despite often being implicated in violent unrest.
abbadun on
Oh would you look at that, a two tier policing system that just so happens to favour racist bigots.
Jensablefur on
Must be some of that two tier policing that alt-righters love using as a buzzword.
Or let me guess, maybe not in *this* case?
MultiMidden on
Do they count blocking a motorway as peaceful protest? You know stopping traffic potentially stopping doctors, nurses, emergency service workers… from getting to work and saving lives. Then of course there’s stopping people getting to hospital for surgery or chemotherapy.
OkAsparagus839 on
Ah, so that’s what two-tier policing really looks like
ProtonHyrax99 on
The Spycops scandal also revealed that the overwhelming majority of undercover officers were placed in left wing and environmental groups.
The government has always hated the left more than actual Nazis.
Pr6srn on
Not really equivalent though – the climate activists are blocking roads and owning up to it, even recording themselves committing the crime. They’re much more likely to be charged because it’s easier for the CPS to prosecute when the accused has admitted to the crime and provided video evidence, than the far right guy who was in a scuffle and decked someone, but is denying it and there’s no evidence.
Different crimes by different groups of people with different evidence available will be charged differently.
ByEthanFox on
Seems a weird thing to compare.
I mean, you’re talking about two groups protesting very different things in very different ways.
OCDOG24 on
far righters tend to make themselves look like idiots. letting them shoot themselves in the foot helps the government. the climate activists make people hate climate activism and therefore have less trust in climate science, something were already seeing.
>The MPS tracks cultural nationalism arrests but we do not use the term far right in categorising arrests. The MPS has been tracking such arrests since 2022.
Secondly, the data set can be downloaded so doing so and looking through it lists 422 arrests with 134 listed as charged, lines up with the 32% figure.
This figure only includes those listed as charge. For the rest you have;
* 2 on bail
* 3 caution
* 6 cautioned (clearly a data entry issue)
* 2 community resolution
* 1 FPN
* 5 Penalty notices
* 3 Red Det (referred to a detective)
* 1 remanded in custody
* 3 RUI (released under investigation)
* 2 have arrest warrants on them.
* 255 released NFA
Without seeing the data set they used for the climate protesters we cannot compare to see if figures are similar.
Lastly, this is only the Met police. It doesn’t cover the rest of the UK. And in the article Global witness do not make refernace to where the climate change protester figures are from.
They could be comparing UK wide climate arrests with these Met police figures, giving a massive imbalance.
SensitivePotato44 on
I’m shocked, shocked I tell you. They’re also infiltrated by undercover police rapists more than the far right are as well
_Rookwood_ on
Seems like a simple analysis. What if those left wing activists engaged in more behaviour which opened them up to arrest? The article doesn’t address that.
daiwilly on
I think climate activists are more likely to hold their hands up and admit they are doing what they are doing…slimy snakes not so much!!
mintymiles on
Time to designate climate activists as a terrorist organisation? They’ve broken into military locations too? Anyone who dares to oppose the government should be deemed terrorists.
Witty_Possession8184 on
That is because they commit three times as many crimes.
Climate activities get arrested all the time for disruption. They sit in the middle of the fucking motorway for God’s sake.
Don’t be so naive to just think this is 2 tier policing. Use your brain for once.
I am not right wing, I just hate this kind of propaganda.
AmpleApple9 on
Classic case of blanket statistics with no context being used for political gain.
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Peaceful climate protest in the UK is being policed much more heavily than far-right activism, with environmental activists charged at three times the rate of far-right agitators, new data obtained by Global Witness reveals.
The analysis found that nearly 7,000 climate protesters overall were arrested between 2019 and mid-2025, according to Freedom of Information disclosures by the Metropolitan Police. Around 60% percent of those arrestees were subsequently charged.
In comparison, only around 400 far-right agitators were arrested over the same period. And they were charged only around 32% of the time – despite far-right activists being more likely to be arrested for violent crimes – while climate activists were overwhelmingly detained for peaceful acts of civil disobedience.
When looking only at the comparative charge rates since 2022, when the UK government introduced new policing powers around protest, the difference is even more stark.
Of the 2,226 climate activists arrested in London between 2022 and mid 2025 for participating in peaceful protest, around three-quarters were subsequently charged. This was over three times the rate of prosecutions of far-right activists arrested over the same period. Of 309 arrests of far-right protesters, less than a quarter were ultimately charged, despite often being implicated in violent unrest.
Oh would you look at that, a two tier policing system that just so happens to favour racist bigots.
Must be some of that two tier policing that alt-righters love using as a buzzword.
Or let me guess, maybe not in *this* case?
Do they count blocking a motorway as peaceful protest? You know stopping traffic potentially stopping doctors, nurses, emergency service workers… from getting to work and saving lives. Then of course there’s stopping people getting to hospital for surgery or chemotherapy.
Ah, so that’s what two-tier policing really looks like
The Spycops scandal also revealed that the overwhelming majority of undercover officers were placed in left wing and environmental groups.
The government has always hated the left more than actual Nazis.
Not really equivalent though – the climate activists are blocking roads and owning up to it, even recording themselves committing the crime. They’re much more likely to be charged because it’s easier for the CPS to prosecute when the accused has admitted to the crime and provided video evidence, than the far right guy who was in a scuffle and decked someone, but is denying it and there’s no evidence.
Different crimes by different groups of people with different evidence available will be charged differently.
Seems a weird thing to compare.
I mean, you’re talking about two groups protesting very different things in very different ways.
far righters tend to make themselves look like idiots. letting them shoot themselves in the foot helps the government. the climate activists make people hate climate activism and therefore have less trust in climate science, something were already seeing.
[You can even be prosecuted for holding up a sign.](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/19/protester-who-held-sign-outside-london-climate-trial-prosecuted)
But the government happily approved airport expansion and the extra CO2 emissions that will cause. I wonder what future generations will think of us.
Crazy how many people seem to think that the attempted murder of hundreds of people is on a par with blocking roads.
You can’t really complain if you make a campaign strategy of deliberately getting arrested..
So having had a look into this it seems Global Witness is playing a bit fast and loose with definitions and figures.
This seems to be the FoI request, it matches up exactly from what I can see.
[https://www.met.police.uk/foi-ai/metropolitan-police/disclosure-2025/july—2025/arrests-far-right-protests-riots-2019/](https://www.met.police.uk/foi-ai/metropolitan-police/disclosure-2025/july—2025/arrests-far-right-protests-riots-2019/)
First thing is they clearly state
>The MPS tracks cultural nationalism arrests but we do not use the term far right in categorising arrests. The MPS has been tracking such arrests since 2022.
Secondly, the data set can be downloaded so doing so and looking through it lists 422 arrests with 134 listed as charged, lines up with the 32% figure.
This figure only includes those listed as charge. For the rest you have;
* 2 on bail
* 3 caution
* 6 cautioned (clearly a data entry issue)
* 2 community resolution
* 1 FPN
* 5 Penalty notices
* 3 Red Det (referred to a detective)
* 1 remanded in custody
* 3 RUI (released under investigation)
* 2 have arrest warrants on them.
* 255 released NFA
Without seeing the data set they used for the climate protesters we cannot compare to see if figures are similar.
Lastly, this is only the Met police. It doesn’t cover the rest of the UK. And in the article Global witness do not make refernace to where the climate change protester figures are from.
They could be comparing UK wide climate arrests with these Met police figures, giving a massive imbalance.
I’m shocked, shocked I tell you. They’re also infiltrated by undercover police rapists more than the far right are as well
Seems like a simple analysis. What if those left wing activists engaged in more behaviour which opened them up to arrest? The article doesn’t address that.
I think climate activists are more likely to hold their hands up and admit they are doing what they are doing…slimy snakes not so much!!
Time to designate climate activists as a terrorist organisation? They’ve broken into military locations too? Anyone who dares to oppose the government should be deemed terrorists.
That is because they commit three times as many crimes.
Climate activities get arrested all the time for disruption. They sit in the middle of the fucking motorway for God’s sake.
Don’t be so naive to just think this is 2 tier policing. Use your brain for once.
I am not right wing, I just hate this kind of propaganda.
Classic case of blanket statistics with no context being used for political gain.