Jailed Insulate Britain activist from Weymouth shares update amid hunger strike

Emma Smart, aged 44, was among the nine supporters of the group jailed at the High Court in London after they admitted breaching an injunction by taking part in a blockade at junction 25 of the motorway during the morning rush hour on October 8.

Some of the group glued themselves to each other and two glued themselves to the road, causing disruption for over an hour and a half on the busy motorway.

Mrs Smart, of Weymouth, announced her intention to go on hunger strike immediately and said in a statement, released after she and the other activists were taken to the cells by security officers, that the Government is “betraying us”.

Emma Smart (left) with her husband Andy (right). Picture: Family handout/PA

A week on from her imprisonment, she shared an update she will continued her hunger strike until Prime Minister Boris Johnson ‘makes a meaningful statement to insulate Britain’.

She wants the Government to insulate more homes for vulnerable people.

Emma Smart said in a statement: “It’s now day 7 and although I’m inside I can feel the weather changing, chilly air blows through the vent below my cell window.

“One week in on my hunger strike, my thoughts are with those vulnerable, elderly and young families, who as the temperature drops, have to choose between heating or eating because of poorly insulated homes; over 8,000 thousand people will die this winter as a direct result.

“I have a choice to not eat and I am fortunate to have a warm cell.

• READ MORE - Husband 'terrified' for jailed Insulate Britain protester on hunger strike 
• READ MORE - JAILED: Insulate Britain activist from Weymouth to go on hunger strike  

“Boris Johnson also has a choice: he can choose to insulate the homes of our most vulnerable, creating thousands of jobs and reducing emissions, he has the money, but he is not willing to protect those people. He is a coward and is betraying this country.

“He can lock me up for highlighting this, but I will continue my hunger strike until he makes a meaningful statement to insulate Britain.”

Mrs Smart also paid tribute to her supporters who gathered for her and other jailed protesters on Saturday (November 20).

“On a personal level I am feeling grateful for the love outside the court, for every hero who stepped up on Saturday, thank you.

“I continue to draw strength from nature, my ‘birding behind bars’ count is now at 15 species. Imagine that from a yard of concrete, turf, steel fences and razor wire, with a 120 step perimeter.

“Yesterday I watched a beautiful green woodpecker forage in the grass for nearly an hour. His stunning red head a beacon against the grey. There is beauty everywhere, we MUST protect it.”

Andy Smith, Mrs Smart’s husband, says he is “terrified” for her but supports her choice.

He said: “She is incredibly resolute in her actions.

“I stand by her in all the decisions she makes. Morally they are in the right in this instance and she really stands by her convictions.

Undated handout photo issued by Insulate Britain of (back row left to right) Tim Speers, Roman Paluch, Emma Smart, Ben Taylor, James Thomas, (front row left to right) Louis McKechnie, Ana Heyatawin and Oliver Roc, some of a group of climate change

“She’s an incredibly passionate person who has spent her whole entire adult life trying to save wildlife and protect the environment. That’s deeply ingrained in who she is.

“That freedom to go out onto the street and protest has been taken away from her, so her going on a hunger strike in prison is another way to continue that process.

“All nine of them in court today were pretty resolute that you can sentence them, but this isn’t going to resolve the problem and people will still continue to protest.

“Obviously I’m terrified. It’s a horrible thing for her to go through but I stand by her decision to do that.”