{{short description|British scientist and co-founder of Extinction Rebellion (born 1972)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Infobox scientist | honorific_prefix = | name = Gail Bradbrook | honorific_suffix = | image = Gail Bradbrook crop 2018.jpg | image_size = | image_upright = | alt = | caption = Bradbrook in 2018 | birth_name = Gail Marie Bradbrook | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|4|30|df=y}} | birth_place = Hemsworth, West Yorkshire, England<ref name="birth">''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007''</ref> | fields = | workplaces = | patrons = | education = | alma_mater = University of Manchester | spouse = Jeff Forshaw (div.) | children = 2 | thesis_title = <!--(or | thesis1_title = and | thesis2_title = )--> | thesis_url = <!--(or | thesis1_url = and | thesis2_url = )--> | thesis_year = <!--(or | thesis1_year = and | thesis2_year = )--> | doctoral_advisor = <!--(or | doctoral_advisors = )--> | academic_advisors = | doctoral_students = | notable_students = | known_for = Co-founder of Extinction Rebellion | influences = | influenced = | awards = | author_abbrev_bot = | author_abbrev_zoo = | signature = <!--(filename only)--> | website = <!--{{URL|www.example.com}}--> }} '''Gail Marie Bradbrook''' (born 30 April 1972) is a British environmental activist and molecular biophysicist who co-founded the environmental social movement Extinction Rebellion.<ref name="Times2019">{{cite news |last1=Billen |first1=Andrew |title=Extinction Rebellion founder Gail Bradbrook: 'We're making people's lives miserable but they are talking about the issues' |url= https://www.thetimes.com/edition/news/we-re-making-people-s-lives-miserable-but-they-are-talking-about-the-issues-d9hxcp53z |website=The Times |access-date=23 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|first1=Sam|last1=Knight|accessdate=22 September 2019|title=Does Extinction Rebellion Have the Solution to the Climate Crisis?|magazine=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/does-extinction-rebellion-have-the-solution-to-the-climate-crisis|date=21 July 2019|issn=0028-792X|via=www.newyorker.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/26/we-have-a-duty-to-act-hundreds-ready-to-go-to-jail-over-climate-crisis|title='We have a duty to act': hundreds ready to go to jail over climate crisis|last=Taylor |first= Matthew |date=26 October 2018|work=The Guardian|access-date=24 September 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
==Early life and career== Bradbrook was born in 1972 and grew up in South Elmsall in West Yorkshire. Her father worked at a mine in South Kirkby. She studied molecular biophysics at the University of Manchester, gaining a PhD. She carried out postdoctoral work in India and France.<ref name="Times2019" /><ref name="BBC profile">{{cite news |last1=Coles |first1=Mark |last2=Gregorius |first2=Arlene |title=Profile – Dr Gail Bradbrook |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0001lvz |accessdate=16 December 2018 |work=BBC Radio 4 |date=15 December 2018}}</ref>
From 2003 to 2017 she was 'director of strategy' at Citizens Online, an organisation promoting wider internet access for disabled users, including launching a 'Fix the Web' campaign in November 2010.<ref>{{cite news |title=Call to fix 'inaccessible' sites |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11746150 |accessdate=18 December 2018 |work=BBC News |date=15 November 2010}}</ref>
==Activism== An interest in animal rights led Bradbrook to join the Green Party at the age of 14.<ref name="ES 19-07-23">{{cite news |last1=Butter |first1=Susannah |title=Extinction Rebellion's co-founder on bringing London to a standstill |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/extinction-rebellion-co-founder-gail-bradbrook-interview-a4196266.html |accessdate=28 August 2019 |work=Evening Standard |date=23 July 2019 |language=en}}</ref>
She has been involved in various campaigning groups in Stroud, including a 2010 to 2013 period as voluntary director of Transition Stroud,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Warne |first1=Chris |title=Transition Stroud awarded £10,000 of Lottery funding |url=https://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/10506185.transition-stroud-awarded-10000-of-lottery-funding/ |accessdate=18 December 2018 |work=Stroud News and Journal |date=25 June 2013 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Gail Marie BRADBROOK – Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House) |url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/4ZBMmoYqD_kwOnb_ZjEK9JaidmE/appointments |website=beta.companieshouse.gov.uk |accessdate=18 December 2018 |language=en}}</ref> an anti-fracking protest,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bisknell |first1=Eddie |title=PICTURES: Anti-fracking protesters spray paint Barclays bank in Stroud |url=https://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/15269579.pictures-anti-fracking-protesters-spray-paint-barclays-bank-in-stroud/ |accessdate=18 December 2018 |work=Stroud News and Journal |date=6 May 2017 |language=en}}</ref> various actions in opposition to the building of a local incinerator,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Temple |first1=Victoria |title=Sofa protesters plan second night outside despite police warnings |url=https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/were-not-moving-sofa-protesters-358176 |accessdate=18 December 2018 |work=gloucestershirelive |date=21 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=CPS drop case against anti-incinerator activists |url=https://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/16109904.cps-drop-case-against-anti-incinerator-activists/ |accessdate=18 December 2018 |work=Stroud News and Journal |date=22 March 2018 |language=en}}</ref> including a naked protest,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bass |first1=Matt |title=Naked protest at Shire Hall against the Javelin Park incinerator decision |url=https://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/15391053.naked-protest-at-shire-hall-against-the-javelin-park-incinerator-decision/ |accessdate=18 December 2018 |work=Stroud News and Journal |date=5 July 2017 |language=en |quote="History shows us that on some occasions people are only listened to, by those who are supposed to be acting in our best interests, when they resort to civil disobedience."}}</ref> and an early Extinction Rebellion roadblock in Merrywalks, Stroud.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stilliard |first1=Ed |title=Eco activists cause traffic misery in Stroud through protest |url=https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/travelling-football-fans-vent-frustration-2130611 |accessdate=18 December 2018 |work=gloucestershirelive |date=20 October 2018 |quote="For those who think what we are saying or doing is extreme, yes it is and it is also real. I urge you to look at the science and verify how bad things are. I am not willing keep my head in the sand and leave my children with such a catastrophic mess. If I have to go to jail so be it."}}</ref> In 2015, with George Barda, she set up the group Compassionate Revolution<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wiseman |first1=Jamie |title=New online political venture the Compassionate Revolution to be launched in Stroud |url=https://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/13345796.new-online-political-venture-the-compassionate-revolution-to-be-launched-in-stroud/ |accessdate=18 December 2018 |work=Stroud News and Journal |date=22 June 2015 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Richardson |first1=Peter |title=Compassionate Revolution Launch Event Highlights |url=http://stroudcommunity.tv/compassionate-revolution-launch-event-highlights/ |website=Stroud Community TV |accessdate=18 December 2018 |date=30 June 2015 |archive-date=18 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181218193755/http://stroudcommunity.tv/compassionate-revolution-launch-event-highlights/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Compassionate Revolution – Pledge collective acts of art, heart, and civil disobedience. |url=https://compassionate-revolution.net/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015172755/https://compassionate-revolution.net/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 October 2015 |publisher=Wayback Machine |accessdate=11 February 2019 |date=15 October 2015}}</ref> (which morphed into Rising Up!, out of which came Extinction Rebellion).<ref name="BBC profile" /> "Bradbrook had been involved in the Occupy movement and campaigns around peak oil, but they failed to take off."<ref name="newyorker">{{cite magazine | title=Does Extinction Rebellion Have the Solution to the Climate Crisis? |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/does-extinction-rebellion-have-the-solution-to-the-climate-crisis|magazine=The New Yorker |accessdate=15 October 2019 |date=21 July 2019}}</ref>
In 2016, she went on a psychedelic retreat to Costa Rica, "where she took ayahuasca, iboga and kambo, in search of some clarity in her work."<ref name="newyorker"/><ref name="standard">{{cite web | title=Extinction Rebellion's co-founder on bringing London to a standstill | url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/extinction-rebellion-co-founder-gail-bradbrook-interview-a4196266.html | work=Evening Standard |accessdate=15 October 2019 |date=23 July 2019}}</ref> That experience "made her change her approach" to campaigning.<ref name="standard"/> Soon after returning she met Roger Hallam and together they came up with Extinction Rebellion.<ref name="newyorker"/><ref name="standard"/>
Bradbrook wants to raise awareness of the dangers from anthropogenic climate change and believes that only civil disobedience on a large scale can bring about the change that is needed.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Royden |first1=Derek |title=Mobilizing against extinction |url=https://www.nationofchange.org/2018/11/30/mobilizing-against-extinction/ |publisher=NationofChange |accessdate=16 December 2018 |date=30 November 2018}}</ref>
In November 2020 she was included in the BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Power list 2020.<ref name="WomansHour_2020PowerList">{{cite web |title=Woman's Hour Power List 2020: The List |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5f6X3JsVjcGXfXstdbYxhkk/womans-hour-power-list-2020-the-list |website=BBC Radio4 |accessdate=16 November 2020}}</ref>
In August 2021, Bradbrook acknowledged that she drives a 1.5l Citroen diesel car. She said she could not afford an electric car and she needed the vehicle to drive her children to sports matches.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |title=Extinction Rebellion founder admits she drives a diesel car |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/08/23/extinction-rebellion-founder-admits-drives-diesel-car/ |work=The Telegraph |date=24 August 2021 |access-date=25 August 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Malvern |first=Jack |date=2023-07-07 |title=Extinction Rebellion founder 'a hypocrite' for buying imported fruit and driving diesel car |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/extinction-rebellion-founder-a-hypocrite-for-buying-imported-fruit-and-driving-diesel-car-h2hkwqf7z |access-date=2023-07-07 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref>
==Personal life== Bradbrook has been married twice, the first time to Jeffrey Forshaw.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/we-re-making-people-s-lives-miserable-but-they-are-talking-about-the-issues-d9hxcp53z|title=Extinction Rebellion founder Gail Bradbrook: 'We're making people's lives miserable but they are talking about the issues'|work=The Times|date=19 April 2019|last=Billen|first=Andrew|quote=She married another academic, Jeff Forshaw|url-access=subscription}}</ref> She has two sons.<ref name="BBC profile" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Milburn |first1=Ella |title=Britain's New Climate Change Protesters Are Desperate to Get Arrested |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/britains-new-climate-change-protesters-are-desperate-to-get-arrested/ |access-date=16 December 2018 |work=Vice |date=21 November 2018}}</ref> She lives in Stroud as does her ex-partner Simon Bramwell, who is also a co-founder of Extinction Rebellion.<ref>{{cite news |title=I'm an MEP who helped block London's bridges to protest climate change. There is more civil disobedience to come |url=https://inews.co.uk/opinion/comment/im-an-mep-who-helped-block-londons-central-bridges-to-protest-climate-change-there-is-more-civil-disobedience-to-come/ |accessdate=16 December 2018 |work=i news |date=20 November 2018 | first=Molly | last=Scott Cato |authorlink=Molly Scott Cato}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Wall |first1=Tom |title=Stroud, the gentle Cotswold town that spawned a radical protest |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/20/stroud-cotswold-town-that-spawned-radical-protest |accessdate=21 April 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=20 April 2019}}</ref>
==Court Proceedings and Sentencing== On 2 November 2023, after a three-day trial,<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67288289 | title=XR founder convicted after four-year legal saga | work=BBC News | date=November 2023 }}</ref> Bradbrook was found guilty of criminal damage, for breaking a pane of reinforced security glass at the Department for Transport, costing £27,660, in protest against HS2. Convicted by a jury at Isleworth Crown Court, Bradbrook acknowledged her actions and the lack of a lawful excuse as argued by the prosecution, but she stood by her motivations for environmental advocacy. The judge maintained the trial focused on the illegal act, not the wider climate issues. Bradbrook, who represented herself, argued her protest was peaceful and necessary after other advocacy methods failed. At Isleworth Crown Court in West London on 18 December 2023, Bradbrook was given a 15-month suspended sentence, with 150 hours of unpaid work and a year-long supervision order.<ref>{{Cite news |last= |date=2023-12-18 |title=XR co-founder who broke window at HS2 protest given suspended sentence |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/18/extinction-rebellion-co-founder-who-broke-window-at-hs2-protest-spared-jail |access-date=2024-06-07 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
== Bibliography == * {{Cite book |author=Gail Bradbrook |editor=Extinction Rebellion |title=This Is Not a Drill: An Extinction Rebellion Handbook|title-link =This is Not a Drill |publisher=Penguin Books |date=2019 |pages=185–186 |chapter=What is our place in these times? |isbn=9780141991443}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Portal|Environment}} * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X-rfydhwY0&t=63s Compassionate revolution – Gail Bradbrook – Off grid Festival 2016 – YouTube video by PermanentCultureNow] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU_r-Q6OfAo Rising Up! How Things Change: The Duty to Disobey – Dr Bradbrook speaks at SOAS University, 2017] {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradbrook, Gail}} Category:1972 births Category:20th-century British scientists Category:21st-century British scientists Category:Alumni of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology Category:British climate activists Category:British environmentalists Category:English molecular biologists Category:Extinction Rebellion Category:Living people Category:People from Hemsworth Category:People from South Elmsall Category:Women molecular biologists