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Topics: Just Stop Oil, UK News
Jess Battison
Topics: Just Stop Oil, UK News
Just Stop Oil has announced it will stop direct action.
The environmental campaign group has certainly caused a stir with its protests and stunts over the years, from throwing soup on Vincent can Gogh's sunflowers to attaching themselves to goalposts at football matches.
But today (27 March), Just Stop Oil says it will end its direct action as it claims it has won its demand to end new oil and gas but will continue to 'tell the truth' in the courts.
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In a statement, the campaign group said: “Just Stop Oil’s initial demand to end new oil and gas is now Government policy, making us one of the most successful civil resistance campaigns in recent history.
“We’ve kept over 4.4 billion barrels of oil in the ground and the courts have ruled new oil and gas licences unlawful.
"So it is the end of soup on Van Goghs, cornstarch on Stonehenge, and slow marching in the streets. But it is not the end of trials, of tagging and surveillance, of fines, probation and years in prison."
The activists added that they are holding a final Just Stop Oil action in Parliament Square, London, on 26 April.
The statement continued: "As corporations and billionaires corrupt political systems across the world, we need a different approach. We are creating a new strategy, to face this reality and to carry our responsibilities at this time. Nothing short of a revolution is going to protect us from the coming storms."
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In response to the announcement today, Greenpeace UK's co-executive director, Will McCallum, said: "Just Stop Oil paid a heavy price for raising their voices at a time when politicians and corporations are trying to silence peaceful protesters – in the streets and in the courts.
“We must not allow our hard-won right to protest to be stripped away, because it is the right that all other rights depend upon.
“Greenpeace and many others will continue to defend this proud tradition of taking action on issues that matter to make change possible.”