Game of Thrones star Jerome Flynn goes from heart-throb to eco-mob cheerleader as he embraces Extinction Rebellion’s co-founder

• The actor, 60, openly hugged the co-founder of eco-mob Extinction Rebellion

He played a rugged and feared swordsman in Game of Thrones.

But yesterday Jerome Flynn cut a very different figure as he openly hugged the co-founder of Extinction Rebellion.

The actor, 60, joined eco-protesters outside court as Dr Gail Bradbook was spared jail for smashing a window at a government department.

The molecular biologist scaled the Department for Transport in Westminster and hit the building’s reinforced glass with a hammer and chisel during a protest against HS2 in October 2019.

The 51-year-old was yesterday given a 15-month suspended sentence along with 150 hours unpaid work – but no order was made for Dr Bradbrook to compensate the taxpayer for the damage.

The actor, 60, joined eco-protesters outside court as Dr Gail Bradbook was spared jail for smashing a window at a government department

As Bronn in HBO series Game of Thrones, Flynn gained a legion of female fans for his no-nonsense attitude, brawny physique and raw masculinity

Flynn has previously joined celebrities including actress Dame Emma Thompson and naturalist Chris Packham in supporting Dr Bradbrook – but was the only famous face to travel to her sentencing at Isleworth Crown Court.

As Bronn in HBO series Game of Thrones he gained a legion of female fans for his no-nonsense attitude, brawny physique and raw masculinity. 

During the height of his fame in 1996, he turned his back on showbusiness for eight years and dedicated himself to a controversial sect run by American Andrew Cohen, after being introduced to the guru by Linus Roache, the son of Coronation Street actor William.

He moved into a commune in north London with a group of believers, including his long-term partner Anna Jacobs, and said he lived ‘like a monk’ for the best part of a decade. He eventually became disillusioned with Cohen and left his Enlightenment movement. 

Flynn, who has taken part in XR protests over the years, said outside the court yesterday: ‘I’m here to support my friend Gail, because I’m proud of her and what she and all of these women are standing up for.

Dr Gail Bradbrook, 51, was yesterday given a 15-month suspended sentence along with 150 hours unpaid work

‘There’s a crime at the heart of the case and it is not Gail smashing up this window, it’s the plan that HS2 was and still is in part which is a crime against nature, a crime against our children and our futures.’

Jurors took just 45 minutes to convict Dr Bradbrook following a retrial, which took place because a judge discharged the original jury when she continued to defy his order not to speak about her motivations. Dr Bradbrook, who wept in court, said. ‘Where are the killers in the court? Where is the justice in the court system? We can’t see it so I am compelled to act.

‘I maintain that my actions were logical and proportionate and that an absolute discharge is appropriate. I am not a criminal.’

She cited other cases involving eco-activists who had been acquitted, including the recent trial of six XR protesters who used a decommissioned fire engine to spray HM Treasury with fake blood in October 2019.

All six were cleared of criminal damage by a jury at Southwark Crown Court in October. Dr Bradbrook said: ‘Repeatedly when jurors hear the full facts about those knowingly causing mass loss of life they take action to protect life.’

Flynn has previously joined celebrities including actress Dame Emma Thompson and naturalist Chris Packham in supporting Dr Bradbrook (pictured)

The molecular biologist scaled the Department for Transport in Westminster and hit the building’s reinforced glass with a hammer and chisel during a protest against HS2 in October 2019

Judge Martin Edmunds KC told Dr Bradbrook that she had actively sought the prosecution through her actions.

‘At least one journalist had been notified of the proposed action and it was clearly your intention to commit a crime sufficient to attract publicity, and to ensure you were arrested and prosecuted,’ he said.

‘Once there you attached stickers to the building bearing protest slogans, announced that you were protesting about a range of issues including the climate and the construction of the HS2 rail line, and then used a hammer and bradawl to attack the large pane of security glass that was behind you.

‘You persisted in the attack despite the request of police officers to stop.

‘The pane of glass was severely damaged and the cost of replacing it came to £27,660.21, partly because it was necessary to close Horseferry Road on a Saturday in order to bring in a crane and mobile platforms to replace that pane.’ Packham said of the case last month: ‘Shooting the brave messengers is vindictive, cruel, reckless and history will not look kindly upon the perpetrators of this kind of ‘justice’.

‘It betrays any kind of ethical consideration and displays an abject disregard for our terrifying reality and the urgent need to address it. Shameful behaviour from the judiciary.’

Ms Thompson previously said: ‘In the same way we honour the women who broke windows to gain the vote, we will honour those who break windows to gain real action in the face of deadly climate collapse.’

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