Supporters of the climate-activism organization Just Stop Oil sprayed paint on World Heritage Site Stonehenge and were arrested on Wednesday, just before thousands are expected to visit the historic structures for the summer solstice.
“Today’s action has come days after the Labour party’s manifesto has recommitted them to stopping all future licences for new oil and gas, should they form the next government,” reads a statement by Just Stop Oil. The United Kingdom will hold a general election on July 4, 2024.
Niamh Lynch, a 21-year-old undergraduate student at Oxford University, and Rajan Naidu, 73, began spraying orange powder paint on Stonehenge around noon, according to a press release by Just Stop Oil. The Wiltshire Police arrived at Stonehenge and arrested these two individuals on suspicion of damaging the ancient monument. In 2022, Naidu was one of 51 Just Stop Oil campaigners who was arrested for breach of an injunction, and because it was his third breach of the injunction, he was sentenced to 34 days in prison.
“Continuing to burn coal, oil and gas will result in the death of millions. We have to come together to defend humanity or we risk everything,” a spokesperson for Just Stop Oil said in a statement. “That’s why Just Stop Oil is demanding that our next government sign up to a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030.”
Video footage released by GB News shows bystanders grabbing the two demonstrators and attempting to seize the spray-paint cans.
“Just Stop Oil should be ashamed of their activists, and they and anyone associated with them, including a certain Labour Party donor, should issue a condemnation of this shameful act immediately,” said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, adding that “This is a disgraceful act of vandalism to one of the UK’s and the world’s oldest and most important monuments.”
Keir Starmer, the Labour Party leader, called the damage to Stonehenge “outrageous” and added that “those responsible should feel the full force of the law.”
English Heritage — a charity that oversees more than 400 historic sites, including Stonehenge — said in a statement that its curators are investigating the damage, and Stonehenge remains open to the public.
A student-run publication at Oxford University reported in 2024 that the school spent £2,487.36 (roughly $3,100 USD) to remove orange paint on the Radcliffe Camera, a famous library, after a Just Stop Oil demonstration.