WATCH: Dan Sillett makes opening statement in debate against Just Stop Oil

On 15 October 2024, Dan Sillett, alongside Peter Bleksley (media personality and former Scotland Yard detective), debated for longer prison sentences for disruptive Just Stop Oil protestors at the University of York Dialectic Union, against Dr Peter Gardner (sociology lecturer at University of York) and Alex de Koning (spokesperson for Just Stop Oil). Sillett debated in his personal capacity as a political commentator at Europinion.

In his opening statement, Sillett reiterated the essential right to protest in a healthy democracy, and the significance of tackling climate change.

However, Sillett argued that these vital messages were lost in the madness of Just Stop Oil’s methods. Citing protesters blocking the M25 for over 36 hours and gatecrashing major sporting events including Wimbledon, Sillett concluded that Just Stop Oil’s national disruption goes beyond peaceful protest, leading him to support long prison sentences for disruptive activists of this kind.