Serica Energy executive citizen’s arrested
Serica Energy executive Stephen Lambert citizen’s arrested over public nuisance allegations related to oil industry practices
At 5pm yesterday, Serica Energy’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Stephen Lambert, was placed under citizen's arrest by three women outside the company’s head office in central London. The group informed Serica Energy staff that a draft indictment and an evidence dossier were also with their lawyers and would be submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service. After the arrest, they attempted to hand the legal documents to staff at the Serica Energy reception, but the staff refused to accept them. The women accuse Lambert of two counts of public nuisance related to the extraction, distribution, sale and disposal of thousands of barrels of oil while fully aware of the environmental damage caused.
Serica Energy is a UK-based oil and gas company that currently has no investments in renewables. According to their January 2025 trading update, the company plans to expand production to 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025.
Dr Hayley Pinto, who carried out the citizen’s arrest on Stephen Lambert, said “Where is the justice for ordinary people when these company executives are being paid vast amounts in bonuses for doing something that is causing people to get sick and die, and damaging people's homes and businesses? Surely that should be illegal? To protect people we have to tackle climate change. They have the money to fund a transition to sustainable energy but they are just carrying on squeezing as much profit as they can from an out of date energy system, destroying our kids' future in the process. As a mum and as a doctor I can’t just stand by and watch that, I have to do something.”
This action followed four additional citizen’s arrests earlier in the day. The Chief Executive Officer of independent oil and gas company Harbour Energy, Linda Z Cook, and Enquest Chief Financial Officer, Jonathan Copus, were arrested on suspicion of public nuisance. Last week, two executives at Thames Water, Chris Weston and Alastair Cochran, were also arrested under similar suspicions.