Just Stop Oil strikes Heathrow Airport as part of ‘summer chaos crusade’… but eco-fanatics get little further than leaving

Supporters of Just Stop Oil held a sit-down protest at London’s Heathrow Airport today, just a day after activists from the group blocked the departure lounges at Gatwick.

The protesters sat behind fire extinguishers in the departure lounge of Heathrow’s Terminal 5 this morning, covering the floor with orange paint but not blocking off any access points.

The group’s latest stunt, part of their plan to cause a “summer of chaos” at British airports, came as many families are still heading abroad for summer holidays.

One of today’s two activists was Phoebe Plummer, who was found guilty of vandalism last week after she threw soup over Vincent van Gogh’s painting Sunflowers.

The 22-year-old will be sentenced on September 27 for the incident at London’s National Gallery in October 2022. A judge has warned him he could face a prison sentence.

Yesterday, Just Stop Oil reported that at around 8am, seven activists entered Gatwick’s South Terminal and ‘used locked suitcases to block the departure gates’.

The protesters then sat on the ground in the airport and blocked an entrance, but passengers with suitcases stepped over them to continue their journey.

Sussex Police said eight people had been arrested on suspicion of disrupting public infrastructure. “An increased police presence can be expected at this time.”

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Yesterday, environmental activists from another group elsewhere in London caused destruction and blocked access to the office of the Policy Exchange think tank on Old Queen Street in Westminster.

One person was arrested for causing damage.

Extinction Rebellion members carried banners reading ‘Policy Exchange – cut ties with fossil fuels’.

Leaflets handed out at the protest listed the group’s demands, including “full and open disclosure” of the sources of the think tank’s funding, greater transparency about Policy Exchange’s meetings with MPs and government departments, and the withdrawal of charitable status for “any lobby group” that receives money from “major oil and gas companies”.

The group poured puddles of black liquid in front of the Policy Exchange building, next to a yellow sign that read “Caution: Slippery Truth.”

Last week, ten Just Stop Oil activists were arrested on suspicion of attempting to disrupt Heathrow.

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According to the Metropolitan Police, no activist was able to reach the airport.

The latest action is part of the ‘Oil Kills International Uprising’ campaign, the group said, which is taking place at airports around the world.

Mel Carrington, 63, a mother and former environmental consultant from Dorset, and Greg Sculthorpe, a mathematician from Doncaster, are believed to be among the activists at Gatwick.

Earlier this month, Gatwick became the latest major airport to be issued with an injunction by the High Court in an attempt to stop potential environmental activists from entering its premises after the airport was alerted by police to plans to protest.

Timothy Morshead KC, who represented Gatwick at the hearing, said such measures could cause “serious disruption and financial loss” and “significant delays to passengers”.