Just Stop Oil protests hit Harrods and Wimbledon

Activists were pictured in the Knightsbridge department store and at the tennis championships.
Just Stop Oil supporters inside the Harrods department store in London (Just Stop Oil/PA)
PA Media
Margaret Davis5 July 2023

Just Stop Oil (JSO) supporters have struck at luxury department store Harrods and Wimbledon.

The activists were pictured holding placards on an escalator in the Knightsbridge shop on Wednesday, before security bundled a photographer out of the building, JSO said.

Later, two people threw orange confetti and pieces of a jigsaw onto Court 18 at Wimbledon, briefly disrupting a match between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro.

Two people were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage, tournament organisers said.

Security has been tightened up at the tennis championships in a bid to avoid stunts by JSO, which has targeted a number of high-profile sporting events.

England cricketer Johnny Bairstow carried one demonstrator off the pitch during disruption of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, following protest action at the Gallagher Premiership rugby final at Twickenham and the World Snooker Championship.

JSO also disrupted the Chelsea Flower Show and the London Pride march.

A number of slow marches were held on Wednesday in central London including 34 supporters who marched in six groups in Hammersmith, Victoria, Westminster, Kensington and Tower Bridge from around 8am, with a further four from 10am including Parliament Square.

Four people were arrested in Parliament Square including one supporter, named by JSO as Reverend Bill White, who has been arrested three times this week while taking part in slow marches.

A spokesperson for Harrods said: “A group from Just Stop Oil staged a small protest in store today before being swiftly escorted out of the building by our security team. There was no impact on operations, and we continued to welcome customers in store as normal.”

It is the latest in near-daily protest action that has been organised by JSO since April 24, as it calls on the Government to end new fossil fuel licences.

Policing the demonstrations has cost the Metropolitan Police more than £5.5 million so far, on top of the £7.5 million it spent dealing with JSO protests between October and December last year.

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