Police arrested six Just Stop Oil activists on an alleged soup night in London this afternoon.
Hackney police have arrested several key organizers of the group who had allegedly been plotting to cause chaos for thousands of tourists this summer by disrupting airports across the UK.
Officers swooped on an east London community centre today and arrested six activists during an event JSO later claimed was a “soup night”.
The environmental group also said another protester named Daniel was arrested while staying at his parents’ home in the capital.
Protesters had reportedly planned to disrupt airports in a “sustained period of action”, warning that an attack at Stansted Airport last week, where two private planes were sprayed with orange paint, was just a “prelude”.
Police are seen leading away a Just Stop Oil activist after arresting her and five others at an alleged soup night in London this evening.
An officer is seen speaking to another activist who had allegedly been part of a plot to cause chaos for thousands of tourists this summer by disrupting airports across the UK.
The environmental group also claimed that another protester named Daniel was arrested while at his parents’ home in the capital.
JSO shared a video on X, showing the moment the alleged organizers were arrested this afternoon.
An officer is heard telling one of the group: “By taking part in the organization of this event this afternoon, I suspect you are taking part in a plot to cause serious disruption at UK airports.”
An activist is then seen being led out of the hallway in handcuffs while surrounded by several officers and other members of the public.
The video later cuts to a video of an activist, named Daniel, being arrested at a house by two police officers.
Daniel can be heard saying to the camera: “I’m being arrested.” I’m not quite sure why.
‘I’m at my parents’ house right now. I was here in London visiting my parents.
—I believe they told me that I am detained for conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct.
“Well, this is what happens when you resist the British state.”
JSO shared a video on X, showing the moment the alleged organizers were arrested this evening.
An activist is then seen being led out of the hallway in handcuffs while surrounded by several officers and other members of the public.
Hackney Police said in a statement: “Tonight (June 27) our officers made six arrests during an event at an east London community centre.
‘We believe that some of those arrested are key organizers of Just Stop Oil.
‘All the arrests were made under a section of the Public Order Act that makes it illegal to conspire to disrupt national infrastructure.
‘We continue to work with airport operators and others to avoid significant disruption.
‘Activists have no right to commit criminal acts that may also endanger themselves and others.
“Anyone who disrupts airport security can expect to be dealt with quickly and firmly.”
The climate group has hit the headlines in recent weeks for its latest stunts, including spray-painting Stonehenge and spraying two private planes at Stansted Airport.
But according to a source, the stunt at Stansted was just a “prelude” to plans to disrupt even more airports in the coming months.
Just Stop Oil activist appears at Stansted Airport after spraying two private planes
Jennifer Kowalski and Cole Macdonald stormed the VIP lounge at Stansted Airport just hours after the pop sensation touched down in London ahead of this weekend’s Wembley shows.
Speaking to The Times, the source said: “This is just another way of acting on the stages of life in which we exist because we are not politicians.”
‘Private jets are obviously conscious of emissions and most people would agree that they should be stopped.
‘It’s a wake-up call to the government that we need big, radical changes.
“If this incoming government doesn’t put us on a war footing, then we won’t have anywhere to fly.”
A JSO spokesperson told MailOnline: “We have breached the 1.5 degree threshold that was supposed to keep us safe, the consequences of this are catastrophic and it is leading to runaway extreme temperatures that are making large parts of the world unable to sustain human life. We cannot continue as usual.”
“To protect our families and communities, we need a legally binding international emergency treaty to phase out the burning of fossil fuels by 2030.”
Asked if it would disrupt people’s summer holidays, the spokesman said: ‘We will take action in places of key importance to the fossil fuel economy to demand an emergency legally binding international treaty to phase out the burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030.’
An activist can be seen spraying the fuselage and windows of two parked white planes with orange paint.
The video shows the pair using a disc cutter to cut a chain link fence at the airport perimeter, before using fire extinguishers to spray orange paint on the plane.
Last week, two JSO activists were also arrested and later released on bail for throwing orange powder paint at Stonehenge.
Rajan Naidu, 73, and Niamh Lynch, 21, ran towards the stones and attacked them as the public tried to intervene.
Video footage showed two people wearing white T-shirts with the slogan Just Stop Oil approaching the stone circle with canisters and spraying orange powder paint.
The group claimed it would wash away in the rain, but archaeologists are concerned about possible damage to the 5,000-year-old global icon and monument.
Tim Daw, a local farmer and historic property manager who used to volunteer at the site, conducted an experiment by mixing cornmeal and food coloring and then applying it to a small piece of sarsen, which is the same stone as Stonehenge.
On the piece of sarsen you can see a series of posterior dots, which are the lichen.
Mr Daw described it on BBC Breakfast as a “very, very strange plant organism that grows on rocks” and which “takes hundreds of years to grow because there is no nutrition”.
Just Stop Oil protesters spray Stonehenge with orange paint
He then washed the bottom half of the stone before gently rubbing it and noticed that the cornmeal was in the pores of the stone and therefore “displacing the lichen.”
Mr Daw told the program he was “concerned” about the lichen on the monument, and said of yesterday’s attack: “I felt shocked and saddened.” He couldn’t believe it.
‘Stonehenge is so precious, not only to me but to many people. Carrying out this act, which I believe has gone against your cause, seems pointless and harmful.’
Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer have joined in condemning Just Stop Oil following the incident.
The Prime Minister described it as a “disgraceful act of vandalism” while the Labor leader branded the group “pathetic”.
