A climate activist has had a charge of criminal damage dropped — after having to wear an ankle tag for more than a year while waiting for the trial.

Benjamin Buse, 38, a researcher at the University of Bristol, was arrested in September 2022 when he and other activists from Animal Rebellion blockaded Müller’s distribution site in Bridgwater in a protest over dairy. Dr Buse tore a hole in pigeon netting in order to climb to a high point in the ceiling and was charged with criminal damage, to which he had pleaded not guilty.

He has since been subject to a curfew requiring him to be home at night and had to wear an ankle tag to track his movements while awaiting trial — which he had expected to begin in late January. But, at a Taunton Crown Court hearing held at North Somerset Courthouse on January 4, the prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service said it was no longer in the public interest to prosecute Dr Buse given the time he had already served under curfew. The case will lie on file.

A “relieved but frustrated” Dr Buse said after the hearing: “They said its not worth taking it to court because I have already served the sentence. That’s not justice.”

Dr Buse, who cycled to the court date from his home and was supported by fellow activists from Christian Climate Action and Animal Rising, said before the hearing: “The curfew has severely restricted my movements, having to stay at home every night between 8pm and 7am initially and then 9pm and 6am for this entire time, and led to many disturbed nights when tag-box blips and they’d phone me up.

“The dropping of the case questions judgement of CPS and judge to have imposed curfew, given the details of the offence. Each day on curfew is equivalent to half day imprisonment.”

The prosecutor had told the court: “The point in this case is there remains evidence — in fact uncontested evidence — that Mr Buse entered the dairy site, climbed up, […] and cut the netting in order to gain a higher position in a more inconvenient position for the owners of the dairy in the protest.

“That is criminal damage on private property.”

The cost of the damage was originally estimated to be £30,000 to replace the netting, although this was later revised down to £5,500. But the defence told the court the damage could have been repaired with a “cable tie” at a cost of “pennies.”

LDRS, John Wimperis