Shocking scenes as Just Stop Oil Protestors vandalise Stonehenge with orange spray paint
Protestors wearing Just Stop Oil t-shirts today spray painted powder onto the historic monument of Stonehenge.
Just Stop Oil then shared footage on social media of their protestors spraying the stones while members of the public appear to try and drag them away from the monument.
According to their post they're doing this because they want the 'incoming government' (so Labour, basically) to sign up to legally binding treaty to remove fossil fuels by 2030.
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They said they started spraying Stonehenge at around 11am in anticipation of the Summer Solstice.
Thousands of people are expected to journey to Stonehenge for the event, which begins tomorrow.
Now they might arrive to standing stones coated in orange paint powder.
Just Stop Oil said: "The UK’s government in waiting has committed to enacting Just Stop Oil’s original demand of ‘no new oil and gas’. However, we all know this is not enough.
"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. 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.
"Failure to commit to defending our communities will mean Just Stop Oil supporters, along with citizens from Austria, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and Switzerland will join in resistance this summer, if their own Governments do not take meaningful action.
"Stone circles can be found in every part of Europe showing how we’ve always cooperated across vast distances – we’re building on that legacy.”
The protestors are student Niamh Lynch and Birmingham man Rajan Naidu.
Lynch said: "Stonehenge at solstice is all about celebrating the natural world – but look at the state it’s in! We all have a right to live a life free from suffering, but continued burning of oil, coal and gas is leading to death and suffering on an unparalleled scale.”
“It’s time for us to think about what our civilization will leave behind – what is our legacy?
Standing inert for generations works well for stones – not climate policy.”
Meanwhile, Naidu said: "Either we end the fossil fuel era, or the fossil fuel era will end us. Just as fifty years ago, when the world used international treaties to defuse the threats posed by nuclear weapons, today the world needs a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to phase out fossil fuels and to support dependent economies, workers and communities to move away from oil, gas and coal.”
“The orange cornflour we used to create an eye-catching spectacle will soon wash away with the rain, but the urgent need for effective government action to mitigate the catastrophic consequences of the climate and ecological crisis will not. Sign the treaty!"
A spokesperson for English Heritage said: "Orange powdered paint has been thrown at a number of the stones at Stonehenge.
"Obviously, this is extremely upsetting and our curators are investigating the extent of the damage. Stonehenge remains open to the public."
Topics: UK News, Just Stop Oil
Joe Harker