Former councillor jailed for Just Stop Oil protest

In a statement posted on the Frome Area Green Party Facebook page, Dunk said the protest had not been "an action I took lightly".

He added: "Any reasonable person would want to prevent extreme global warming in order to protect future generations and allow them to have a future.

"The safety of the travelling public was my first consideration."

Ashley Fox, the Conservative MP for Bridgwater, said he welcomed the "tough sentences" that had "brought an end to the recent motorway protests".

He added: "I have always defended the right to peaceful protest, but deliberately causing chaos on major roads, stopping people from reaching weddings, funerals, job interviews and hospital appointments is not lawful and never should be."

Bill Revans, Somerset Council's leader and a Liberal Democrat councillor, said: "Mick absolutely broke the law on a Just Stop Oil protest, disrupting the lives of many.

There certainly needs to be proportional consequences for law-breaking.

"However, a custodial sentence of over two years for a respected, sincere and kind man is appalling."