A former UK Paralympic athlete who superglued himself to the roof of a British Airways plane during an Extinction Rebellion protest has been jailed for a year.
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James Brown, 56, who has been registered blind since birth, managed to scale the aircraft in October 2019 to stage a protest against flying at London City Airport.
The double gold medallist, from Exeter, glued his right hand to the plane, which was destined for Amsterdam, before wedging his mobile phone in the door to prevent it from closing.
Northern Ireland-born Brown, who represented Great Britain in cycling and athletics before going on to represent Ireland in cross-country skiing, spent an hour on the aircraft before he was removed.
Prosecutors said he caused disruption to more than 300 British Airways passengers, and cost the airline PS40,000 ($A75,000).
Brown, who represented himself at his trial, denied one count of causing a public nuisance, claiming he had "to do something spectacular" to draw attention to the climate crisis.
Judge Gregory Perrins sentenced him to 12 months' imprisonment, of which he will serve half, on Friday.
He told Brown: "The right to protest does not entitle you to cause major widespread disruption to a major airport... simply because you think it is the right thing to do."
Australian Associated Press
