CAN Citizen’s Arrest Network

Email: press@citizensarrestnetwork.org 

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This afternoon, at 13:46, a group of six women surrounded the Vice President Legal of Perenco, Jonathan Parr, and placed him under citizen’s arrest. The group handed the executive a dossier of evidence that accused him of committing crimes of Public Nuisance.

The group confronted the oil executive over his crimes on his lunchbreak outside Perenco’s offices in Hanover Square, London. The women making the arrest then called the police, however Parr refused to wait for the police to arrive and pushed past the women who were linking their arms around him, and moved inside the lobby of the building.

The women are currently waiting for the police to arrive.

Ali Beale, one of the women who made the Citizen’s Arrest and handed Parr the evidence dossier, said: “Everyone can agree that these oil bosses are a public nuisance. As an executive of Perenco, Parr is responsible for 7 million times more carbon emissions than the average UK citizen every year. That alone should be enough evidence to have her investigated for public nuisance.

“The mega heatwaves and wildfires across the globe this summer are a direct result of the work of people like Parr. He knows his actions are putting the public at risk and disrupting the lives of ordinary people everywhere. If anyone else did even half this kind of damage they would be facing prison time, instead Parr is being allowed to just carry on with this criminal behaviour. Actions should have consequences, but it’s everyone else who is paying the price.”

Parr was in post and responsible for Perenco’s legal compliance in March 2023 when they spilled nearly 200 barrels of oil into Poole Harbour’s protected waters, one of the most important nature reserves along the British coastline. The spill disrupted businesses including fishermen, with many locals losing out on income. Conservationists sounded the alarm about the spills harm to marine and bird life including the mute swan. The company were fined fined £6m for the incident in Poole, but no one has been personally charged over the pollution.¹

Perenco is also currently being audited in the DRC to investigate the ‘reality’ of oil and gas exploration in the region.² Residents and various NGOs have since accused the firm of polluting the environment through its oil spills, improper burial of toxic waste, and natural gas flaring that’s impacted residents’ health and livelihoods, Mongabay previously reported.³ 

In March 2024, 5 people at Gabon Oil Platform were killed in a fire due to Perenco's lack of safety culture.⁴⁵ 

Parr has been in senior management at the oil company for 19 years. While he was in his role at the company, in March 2024, Perenco were fined £225,000 and issued sanction notice by North Sea Transition Agency for exceeding limits on venting (i.e. releasing methane into the atmosphere).⁶

The offence brought in the Citizen’s Arrest Network dossier accuses Parr of “Intentionally or recklessly caus[ing] a public nuisance, contrary to section 78 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022”. The particulars of the offence are twofold: 

Public nuisance is an indictable offence that carries a maximum 10 year sentence.

Citizen’s Arrest Network have citizen’s arrested ten of the UK’s biggest polluting industry executives and holding the people responsible for the worst environmental pollution to account since March 2025. The group are working with leading human rights lawyers to pursue Thames Valley Police investigation into the Thames Water CEO.⁷

-ENDS-

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Citizen’s Arrest Network has been holding those responsible for the worst environmental pollution to account since March 2025.

The group have citizens arrested ten of the UK’s biggest polluting industry executives who they say are breaking the law. They also handed evidence dossiers to the police showing how their actions could be “intentionally or recklessly caus[ing] a public nuisance, contrary to section 78 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022” a crime that carries a maximum 10 year sentence.

Despite handing officers and in some cases the CPS evidence, the police and courts have failed to act. In the case of an investigation into Thames Water’s CEO, the leading human rights law firm Leigh Day is currently following up with Thames Valley Police after handing them additional evidence in January 2026.

Other executives who have been citizen’s arrested include: CEO of Southern Water, Lawrence Gosden who was citizen’s arrested en route to speak at a conference after covering Camber Sands in plastic beads; CEO of Anglian Water, Mark Thurston who was held for an hour outside a train station; Gilles d'Argouges, Group CFO of Perenco, for his part in spilling 200 barrels of oil into protected coastline around Poole Harbour; Chief Executive Officer of Harbour Energy and former Shell Gas & Power, Linda Z Cook; Alastair Cochran who resigned from his post as Thames Water CFO shortly after the incident; CEO Amjad Bseisu & the Chief Financial Officer, Jonathan Copu for their actions at the oil company EnQuest; Serica Energy Corporate Affairs Officer Stephen Lambert; and Wessex Water CEO Ruth Jefferson who is responsible for over 1 million hours of monitored spill events from 2020-2024 alone.

The criminals responsible for filling our rivers with shit, the seas with plastic, and the air with carbon have been hiding behind their companies for too long. We can no longer stand by as crimes are committed. It’s time to hold these criminals to account.

Citizen’s Arrest Network will continue taking peaceful and legitimate action to put a stop to this. You CAN help them hold the biggest environmental polluters to account by supporting Citizen's Arrest Network here.