Climate protest accused defies judge to give hours-long speech in court

Jury sent out three times during address by Roger Hallam, who is on trial for alleged role in organising M25 blockade

A climate protester ignored a judge's instructions and refused to leave the witness box, instead delivering an hours-long speech telling jurors that his alleged role in a conspiracy to block the M25 was justified by the risk of human extinction.

Roger Hallam, 58, spoke for more than two hours on why a judge was wrong to rule that he and co-defendants could not bring evidence in their defence on the impacts of climate breakdown, and why such evidence justified the sort of acts of which they are accused.