Insulate Britain: Jailed protester faces calls to quit council

A councillor jailed for her part in Insulate Britain protests should step down, opponents have said.

Therese Norton, 62, a member of Scarborough Borough Council's Labour group, was sentenced with four fellow campaigners at the High Court on Wednesday.

Derek Bastiman, leader of the North Yorkshire town's Conservative group, said she had "brought the borough into disrepute" and must quit.

Labour has been approached for comment.

Ms Norton and her co-defendants were given sentences ranging from 24 to 42 days for defying a court order preventing them from protesting on the M25.

Insulate Britain was hit with the injunctions after it staged a series of road blockades in London and south-east England last year.

The action - calling on the government to insulate all UK homes by 2030 - caused major disruption for drivers and led to angry confrontations between motorists and protesters.

Insulate Britain activists jailed over M25 protest

Why is Insulate Britain blocking roads?

Prior to their sentencing, Ms Norton and three co-accused glued themselves to the Royal Courts of Justice steps in defiance of the contempt of court proceedings against them.

Ms Norton's sentence does not meet the 12-week threshold to disqualify her as a councillor.

Her opponent Mr Bastiman described Insulate Britain as an "eco-hooligan group" and said residents in her Eastfield ward deserved better,

"We have been a laughing stock because of her behaviour and no action was taken against her by SBC or the Labour Party."

In a statement, Scarborough's Conservative group added: "We're not holding our breath, but we hope she does the honourable thing and resigns.

"The residents of Eastfield do not deserve to be represented by a convict."

The group further accused Ms Norton of showing "utter contempt" for the disruption caused by her actions.

Ms Norton said in court she stood by her actions and was "proud" of what she had done.

"I simply can't be a bystander and watch the continued and wanton destruction of our children's future," she said.

She apologised for the inconvenience her actions caused, but added: "Would I do it again? Absolutely."

Scarborough Borough Council said it had a formal procedure to deal with any complaints about a councillor who was alleged to have breached its members' code of conduct.

"In the event that we receive such a complaint about Councillor Norton, we will follow our formal policy for dealing with standards complaints, which is available on our website," a spokesperson said.

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].