A Somerset councillor representing Frome who was jailed for his part in a climate demonstration on the M25 has spoken about his time in prison, the impact on his family and the uncertainty of an ongoing appeal.
Mick Dunk, who represents Frome’s West Ward for the Green Party, was sentenced to 26 months in prison for climbing a gantry on the M25 during a 2022 demonstration organised by Just Stop Oil.
He recently served two months in custody, and nine days on remand at HM Prison Wandsworth in 2022, and is now awaiting the outcome of an appeal of sentence while subject to a curfew and electronic tag until July.
Speaking to Frome Times, Mick, who is in his 70s, said he was locked in a cell for up to 23 hours a day while held at HM Prison Wandsworth.
“It was bearable initially when I was sharing a cell with someone who was a co-defendant. The cells are tiny, you get a bunkbed, there’s a toilet at one end and a window high up which you can’t see much out of,” he said. “We weren’t even allowed out at all one Sunday because they didn’t have enough staff, so you are just locked up for 24 hours of the day, that’s not great.”
During his sentence, Mick said he was placed with different cellmates, including one who was ‘very controlling’ and struggled with obsessive compulsive disorder and had been convicted of grievous bodily harm.
He said the situation sometimes became tense when rules inside the cell were not understood or followed.
“He had rules in his cell, which I didn’t even know, and every time I broke them, he got verbally aggressive and abusive,” he said.
On another occasion, he said he shared with a younger prisoner who had developed a dependence on synthetic drugs inside jail. “It was really heart-rending stuff,” he said.
He said he became involved in the protest after feeling compelled to act on climate change and concerns over government plans to expand oil and gas licensing in the North Sea.
“When I heard about Just Stop Oil, I felt that I needed to do something because it was going to be the wrong decision for our government to make, blatantly wrong,” he said.
He attended training in London ahead of the demonstration, where campaigners practised climbing a replica gantry and discussed the risks involved. “We managed to block sections of the M25, on four consecutive mornings. On each day there were between 12 and 15 protesters on various positions around the M25, so that had quite a big effect.”
He said he felt protesting has made a difference. “The idea is to get some publicity. It’s been very hard to get people to focus on what is actually the most serious issue facing anyone in this country and anyone in the world.”
He said he understood there was a possibility of a prison sentence before taking part but did not fully discuss the consequences with his family beforehand.
He said the impact on family life has been significant, with visits to see his daughter and grandchildren, who live two hours away, having to be carefully timed around his 7pm to 7am curfew, leaving him unable to stay longer than a few hours at a time.
“I can’t get back to normal life until my tag is off,” he said.
He has thanked the Frome community for their support. “I would like to thank Frome, people have been very supportive,” he said. “It’s an amazing place, and residents I meet have been quite understanding.”
He added, “Even in prison I received loads of supportive letters and cards, especially welcome around Christmas time.”
Mick remains in post as a councillor while his appeal is ongoing.
Under council rules, a custodial or suspended sentence of three months or more would normally mean he would have to step down from his role. He said he was ‘resigned’ to the fact his sentence may not be reduced.
He said, “The chances realistically of a reduction of my sentence from 26 months to less than three, it’s not probably a likelihood is probably not likely.”
