A 77-year-old Just Stop Oil protester has been recalled to prison after she was unable to be fitted with an electronic tag.
Gaie Delap was sentenced to 20 months in prison in August for being part of a group that blocked the M25 in November 2022.
The grandmother, from Bristol, was released early on 18 November on a home detention curfew – but the Electronic Monitoring Service (EMS) was unable to attach an electronic tag to her ankle due to a health condition.
They tried to fit the device onto one of her wrists, but they proved too small.
As a result, on 5 December an arrest warrant was put out, and she was recalled to prison, according to Just Stop Oil (JSO).
Her friends and family said in a statement that they were “outraged” by the decision,which they described as “cruel and totally unnecessary”.
They say Delap was “fully compliant with the terms of her release” and was in hospital when the warrant was issued.
“We know there are alternatives to the tag,” the statement read. “We know that if she had been a man, a tag would have been available to EMS.
“Because of medical conditions, Gaie requires a wrist tag or some equivalent. And we know from our own investigations and enquiries there are many out there.”
Gaie Delap (left) with other protesters outside The Royal Courts of Justice in London in November 2022. Pic: PA
Her relatives added that Delap is “absolutely no threat to the community” and her recall will “waste” £12,000 in taxpayer money.
“We cannot believe that there is not an electronic monitoring device that can be fitted at a fraction of the cost,” they said.
“We want common sense to prevail.”
‘Significant mistreatment in prison’
JSO says Delap suffered a stroke in the run-up to her trial and continues to suffer from various medical issues.
It claims she “experienced significant mistreatment in prison, suffering wrist problems after being handcuffed to a bed in hospital”.
She “experienced significant mistreatment in prison, suffering wrist problems after being handcuffed to a bed in hospital” and the warrant for her arrest was reportedly issued whilst she was receiving treatment in hospital.
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JSO’s statement read: “Gaie took action in 2022 after the government announced that it would issue over 100 new oil and gas licences.
“This was despite summer temperatures climbing above 40C (104F), railways buckling in the heat, harvests being decimated, and the London Fire Brigade experiencing the most calls since WWII. There were 61,000 excess deaths from the heat in Europe that year.
“Gaie took this brave action out of a deep sense of duty to protect her children, grandchildren and indeed all of us.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We have a duty to enforce sentences passed down by the independent judiciary.
“The law states anyone released under home detention curfew must be tagged and recalled if no alternative solution is available.”
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