Stonehenge: Pair deny Just Stop Oil orange paint protest charges
Mr Naidu, of Gosford Street, in Birmingham, and Ms Lynch, of Norfolk Road, in Bedford, are set to face a trial on 30 October.A pre-trial review hearing will take place on 19 September.Mr Watson, of Bishop's Stortford, Essex, will next appear in court on 30 May.
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The Independent
27-03-2025
- The Independent
The most controversial Just Stop Oil protests as climate group ceases direct action
Environmental campaign group Just Stop Oil has announced it will no longer carry out direct action. Over the course of three years, activists have taken part in a number of high-profile demonstrations, including throwing cans of soup on van Gogh paintings, blocking roads and even disrupting a West End performance of The Tempest . Just Stop Oil's initial demand was for the to end licences for new oil and gas production in the UK, which is now a government policy. Although it will no longer be taking direct action, it will continue to speak in court for what it calls its 'political prisoners' and call out anti-protest laws in the UK. The announcement comes after new laws have made it increasingly difficult to carry out disruptive protests. Campaign group activists have been arrested for numerous direct action protests since the group started in 2022. Here, The Independent highlights a few of the most memorable protests. Soup thrown on Van Gogh's sunflowers One stunt from the group saw two eco-activists throw tins of Heinz tomato soup over Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers in October 2022. Phoebe Plummer 23, and Anna Holland, 22, caused as much as £10,000 worth of damage to the artwork's gold-coloured frame when they targeted it at London's National Gallery. Two protesters threw tinned soup at Vincent Van Gogh's famous 1888 work Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London (Just Stop Oil/PA) (PA Media) Plummer received a two-year jail term, while Holland was handed 20 months. The protesters, wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts, threw the soup over the 1888 work, worth more than £74 million, before kneeling down in front of the painting and gluing their hands to the wall beneath it. Staff at the gallery inspected the painting and frame for damage while the women were still attached to the wall, and were worried the soup may have dripped through the protective glass. The frame was purchased by the gallery in 1999, the court heard and was valued at £28,000 before it suffered the estimated £10,000 worth of damage. Disrupting a West End play Two Just Stop Oil protesters were accused of disrupting a West End performance of The Tempest starring Sigourney Weaver in January. Richard Weir, 60, of Tynemouth, and Hayley Walsh, 42, of Radcliffe on Trent, both in Nottinghamshire, were charged with aggravated trespass at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane on January 28, Scotland Yard said. The pair were accused of climbing on to the stage before setting off confetti and unfurling a banner that read: 'Over 1.5 degrees is a global shipwreck.' Just Stop Oil targeted a West End performance of The Tempest last month (Just Stop Oil/PA) (PA Media) Orange powder on Stonehenge Orange powder was sprayed on the ancient monument during a Just Stop Oil protest in June 2024. Video footage posted on social media showed two people wearing white shirts with the slogan Just Stop Oil approaching the stone circle with canisters and spraying orange powder paint. Following the protest, English Heritage said experts had quickly removed the orange powder from the stones. Rajan Naidu, 74, and Niamh Lynch, 22, pleaded not guilty to two charges of damaging an ancient protected monument and causing a public nuisance following the incident on June 19 last year. They were released on bail. The action sparked widespread condemnation as well as concerns over about potential damage to the stones and the lichens that grow on them. Two protesters threw tinned soup at Vincent Van Gogh's famous 1888 work Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London (Just Stop Oil/PA) (PA Media) Campaigners poured paint over the robot and unfurled a Just Stop Oil banner (Just Stop Oil/PA Wire) (Just Stop Oil/PA Wire) Paint poured over Tesla robot Two Just Stop Oil protesters were arrested after pouring orange powdered paint over a robot at a Tesla shop in Shepard's Bush, west London. Metropolitan Police said retired teacher Catherine Rennie Nash, 74, and former tax adviser Nigel Fleming, 63, climbed on to a podium display in the store on March 12. The campaigners then proceeded to pour paint over the robot and unfurled a Just Stop Oil banner. The environmentalists said it was a protest against Tesla owner Elon Musk and other billionaires 'jeopardising climate science' and threatening democracy. Four days of protest on the M25 Environmental campaigners brought rush hour traffic on the M25 to a standstill causing chaos for motorists when protesters climbed up the gantries. Five Just Stop Oil protesters were handed jail terms over the protests. Police closing the M25, where a demonstrator from Just Stop Oil climbed the gantry in 2022 (Just Stop Oil/PA) (PA Media) Roger Hallam, 58, Daniel Shaw, 38, Louise Lancaster, 58, Lucia Whittaker De Abreu, 35, and Cressida Gethin, 22, agreed to cause disruption to traffic by having protesters climb onto gantries over the motorway for four successive days in November 2022. Just Stop Oil co-founder Hallam was sentenced to five years' imprisonment while the other four defendants were each handed four years' imprisonment. Prosecutors said the M25 protests, which saw 45 people climb up the gantries, led to an economic cost of at least £765,000, while the cost to the Metropolitan Police was more than £1.1 million. They allegedly caused more than 50,000 hours of vehicle delay, affecting more than 700,000 vehicles, and left the M25 'compromised' for more than 120 hours. Activists also targeted several locations along the motorway circling Greater London in a call to end all new oil and gas licenses. The campaigners staged a similar protest in October 2023 by climbing the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge which links Kent and Essex, causing the closure of the Dartford Crossing for two days.
The Independent
29-01-2025
- The Independent
Two deny charges over Just Stop Oil protest at Stonehenge
Two people have denied charges resulting from an incident at Stonehenge in which orange powder was sprayed on the ancient monument during a Just Stop Oil protest. Rajan Naidu, 74, and Niamh Lynch, 22, pleaded not guilty to two charges of damaging an ancient protected monument and causing a public nuisance following the incident on June 19 last year. A third defendant, Luke Watson, 35, was excused attendance from the hearing at Salisbury Crown Court and did not enter pleas to the charges he faces. Watson, of Manuden, Bishop's Stortford, Essex, will next appear in court on May 30. Judge Rufus Taylor fixed a two-week trial at Winchester Crown Court beginning on October 20. A pre-trial review hearing will take place on September 19. Naidu, of Gosford Street, Birmingham, and Lynch, of Norfolk Road, Bedford, were released on bail.
Telegraph
29-01-2025
- Telegraph
Stonehenge Just Stop Oil protester asks for trial not to clash with Oxford exams
Niamh Lynch, 22, is accused alongside fellow JSO protester Rajan Naidu, 74, of damaging the historic site in June last year. The pair allegedly threw powder over the ancient monument in Wiltshire just before the summer solstice. Appearing at Salisbury Crown Court on Wednesday, Ms Lynch and Mr Naidu denied one count of destroying or damaging an ancient monument and one count of intentionally causing a public nuisance. But during discussions to fix a trial date, Audrey Mogan, defending, asked that May and June are avoided for Ms Lynch's studies. Ms Mogan said: 'Niamh Lynch is an A third protester, Luke Watson, 35, is jointly accused with Lynch and Naidu but did not appear at court. A 10-day trial will be held in October this year. His Honour Judge Rufus Taylor told Lynch and Naidu: 'Your trial will be on October 20 at Winchester Crown Court, keep in touch with your solicitors because they will want your counsel. You must attend your trial.' Previously it has been reported that Ms Lynch was a geography student at the University of Oxford and a youth representative at the British Trust for Ornithology, which is the study of birds. A website for Oxford's Nature Conservation Society states she is co-president. On the page, she says: 'Hello I'm Niamh, a third-year geographer. 'My favourite Oxford bird is the Swift, my favourite Oxford flower is the Bee-Orchid, and my favourite Oxford place is Boundary Brook.' Ms Lynch is from Turvey, Bedfordshire, Mr Naidu is from Birmingham, and Mr Watson is from Manuden, Essex.
