Just Stop Oil campaigners attack Stonehenge as West Midlands man among those involved

A West Midlands man has been confirmed to be among a group of protesters who attacked Stonehenge. The famous monument was sprayed with orange paint hours ahead of the summer solstice, which attracts thousands of people.

Campaign Group Just Stop Oil claimed the action and said they were demanding the incoming UK government agree a plan to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer both condemned the attack. The Prime Minister described it as a “disgraceful act of vandalism” while the Labour leader branded the group “pathetic”.

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Members of the public tried to intervene, struggling with the campaigners – named by the group as Rajan Naidu, 73, from Birmingham and Niamh Lynch, 21, a student from Oxford – as they ran up to the ancient monument on Wednesday.

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.

Mr Naidu said: “Either we end the fossil-fuel era, or the fossil-fuel era will end us.

“Just as 50 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.”

English Heritage said experts were assessing the “extent of the damage” on the stones.

A spokeswoman 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.”

The spokeswoman added that the solstice celebrations will go ahead. Around 8,000 people are expected to gather at Stonehenge to mark the longest day of the year from 7pm tonight.

Wiltshire Police said officers had attended the scene and arrested two people.

A spokesman for the force said: “At around noon, we responded to a report that orange paint had been sprayed on some of the stones by two suspects.

“Officers attended the scene and arrested two people on suspicion of damaging the ancient monument.

“Our inquiries are ongoing, and we are working closely with English Heritage.”

A spokesperson 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.”

The group said it used orange cornflour paint to spray onto the stones, which it claimed would “soon wash away with the rain”.

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