Leamington man in court after taking part in London protests

A Leamington man is among the first of a group of protesters who took part in a sit-in at Fortnum and Mason in London to stand for trial in a ‘test’ prosecution.

Christoper Mark Law, 21, of Charlotte Street, is one of 20 people, mostly accused of aggravated trespass, who will be called before the City of Westminster magistrates’ court.

In total, 138 people were charged following the demonstration, organised by campaign group UK Uncut, against alleged tax avoidance by the owners of the Picadilly-based department store on March 26. Due to the high number of defendants, the Crown Prosecution Service is pursuing this group of 20 to see whether it can secure guilty verdicts before going ahead with follow-up trials.

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Edmund Hall, prosecuting, told the court this week that 123 of the 138 defendants were now represented by solicitors, and that arrest warrants may be needed to force some to turn up for trial. If convicted, they would each face a maximum of three months in jail or a £2,500 fine.

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