A GROUP of protestors taken to court after preventing a deportation flight from taking off at Stansted have had their convictions overturned on appeal.
The so-called Stansted 15 cut through the airport’s perimeter fence and locked themselves together around a Boeing 767 jet chartered by the Home Office to transport people from UK detention centres for repatriation to Africa.
They were later convicted at Chelmsford Crown Court of an offence arising out of the March 2017 incident.
Three were given suspended jail sentences and the other 12 were handed community orders.
The group were granted permission to appeal against their convictions in August 2019 and a three-day hearing took place before the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett, sitting with Mr Justice Jay and Mrs Justice Whipple, in November.