Seven women face jail time for smashing windows in protest against Barclays’ fossil fuel finance

Protesters smashed windows to highlight bank’s ‘deadly support for fossil fuels’

The protesters wore patches on their clothes that read ‘Better broken windows than broken promises' (PA)

Seven women taking part in an Extinction Rebellion protest at Barclays bank’s headquarters in Canary Wharf last year have been found guilty of criminal damage and now face jail sentences of up to 18 months.

The protesters caused almost £100,000 worth of damage after using hammers and chisels to smash windows, and putting up posters reading "in case of climate emergency, break glass".

At the trial in Southwark Crown Court which began late last month, jurors were told the group arrived in Canary Wharf  at around 7am on 7 April, 2021. They then spread out around the front of the bank, using tools to crack the large glass panels forming the walls of the bank’s ground floor.