Supreme Court: Protesters who blocked milk deliveries have ‘no case to answer’

Protesters who took part in direct action have walked free, after the Supreme Court ruled they have “no case to answer”.

In September 2022, the six defendants blocked the Müller distribution centre in Droitwich, part of a wider Animal Rebellion action that disrupted milk supplies across the Midlands and the south of England. They chained themselves to fencing and glued themselves to an access road, stopping vehicles for four hours before the police removed and arrested them.

The protesters were charged with public nuisance and appeared at Worcester Crown Court in June 2025. Since the route blocked is a no-through road, which only leads to an industrial estate and is clearly marked as private land, the defendants argued they hadn’t obstructed the public’s rights at all. The judge agreed and ruled that there was no case to answer.

The Crown Prosecution Service appealed, and the case made its way to the Supreme Court.

This week the court ruled that the judge in the initial trial “was correct to rule that the evidence adduced by the prosecution at the trial disclosed no case to answer”.

According to Animal Rising’s Claudia Penna Rojas, this decision sets clear boundaries on the use of public nuisance legislation.

“This Supreme Court ruling is a resounding victory for the right to protest and a decisive rejection of the prosecution’s attempt to criminalise peaceful campaigners,” Penna Rojas said. “This decision affirms that public nuisance laws cannot be stretched to silence dissent or target those exposing systemic harm.”

For Cat Knight, Good Law Project’s deputy head of legal, the judgment draws a line in the sand over the sweeping misuse of state power.

“In the middle of the government’s brutal crackdown on peaceful protest, this decision is a chink of light,” Knight said. “When people raise their voices it makes us all stronger. It’s time for ministers to protect the right to make ourselves heard and stop their constant attacks on dissent.”

With Reform UK riding high in the polls, our right to protest is under threat as never before. We’ll keep working together to defend people who speak truth to power.