UK police say they arrested two individuals ‘on suspicion of damaging’ the prehistoric monument, named a World Heritage Website by the United Nations Instructional, Scientific and Cultural Group (UNESCO).
Two local weather protesters had been arrested for spraying orange paint on the traditional Stonehenge monument, a prehistoric UNESCO World Heritage Website in southern England, police have stated.
The act by Simply Cease Oil was rapidly condemned by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday as a “disgraceful act of vandalism”. Labour chief Keir Starmer, his foremost opponent within the election subsequent month, referred to as the group “pathetic” and stated the injury was “outrageous”.
The incident got here only a day earlier than 1000’s are anticipated to collect on the 4,500-year-old stone circle to have fun the summer time solstice – the longest day of the 12 months within the northern hemisphere.
English Heritage, which manages the positioning, stated it was “extraordinarily upsetting” and stated curators had been investigating the injury. Simply Cease Oil stated on the social media platform X that the paint was fabricated from cornstarch and would dissolve within the rain.
🚨 BREAKING: Simply Cease Oil Spray Stonehenge Orange
🔥 2 individuals took motion the day earlier than Summer time Solstice, demanding the incoming authorities signal as much as a legally binding treaty to section out fossil fuels by 2030.
🧯 Assist us take megalithic motion — https://t.co/R20S8YQD1j pic.twitter.com/ufzO8ZiDWu
— Simply Cease Oil (@JustStop_Oil) June 19, 2024
The Wiltshire Police stated the pair of protesters had been arrested on suspicion of damaging the monument.
“Officers attended the scene and arrested two individuals on suspicion of damaging the traditional monument,” police stated. “Our inquiries are ongoing and we’re working intently with English Heritage.”
Footage posted on social media confirmed activists, carrying “Simply Cease Oil” branded T-shirts, spraying a cluster of the megalithic standing stones with the orange substance from a small canister.
The group stated Niamh Lynch, a 21-year-old scholar, and Rajan Naidu, 73, had used “orange cornflour” for the stunt.
Stonehenge was constructed on the flat lands of Salisbury Plain in levels beginning 5,000 years in the past, with the distinctive stone circle erected within the late Neolithic interval about 2,500 BC.
A few of the stones, the so-called bluestones, are identified to have come from southwest Wales, practically 240km (150 miles) away, however the origins of others stay a thriller.
Simply Cease Oil is one in all many teams round Europe which have gained consideration – and acquired criticism – for disrupting sporting occasions, splashing paint and meals on well-known artistic endeavors and interrupting visitors to attract consideration to the worldwide local weather disaster.
The group, shaped in 2022, stated it acted in response to the Labour Celebration’s current election manifesto. Labour has stated that if it wins the election on July 4, it could not situation additional licenses for oil and fuel exploration. Simply Cease Oil backs the moratorium however stated it’s not sufficient.
In an announcement, the group stated Labour, which is main in polls and broadly anticipated by pundits and politicians to steer the subsequent authorities, must go additional and signal a treaty to section out fossil fuels by 2030.
“Persevering with to burn coal, oil and fuel will consequence within the demise of tens of millions,” the group stated in an announcement.
“Failure to decide to defending our communities will imply Simply Cease Oil supporters… will take part resistance this summer time, if their very own governments don’t take significant motion.”