The Right To Protest Is Not The Right To Crime
27th October 2022
Although sometimes you’d be forgiven for thinking so.
Just Stop Oil has continued its disruptive protest over the last few weeks, promising to escalate its action as long as the government grants licences for fossil fuel exploration. On 14 October, two protesters hurled soup at Van Gogh’s painting The Sunflowers in the National Gallery and glued their hands to the wall. Thankfully, the painting was protected by Perspex, but the frame itself was reportedly damaged. Elsewhere, protesters have been obstructing roads across the capital, graffitiing the Scotland Yard sign and the shopfront of an Aston Martin dealership, climbing onto the Dartford Crossing bridge, stopping traffic and covering the front of Harrods with paint. Other groups protested too, with Animal Extinction pouring milk on supermarket floors and End Private Jets pouring urine and faeces on a memorial to Sir Captain Tom Moore.