Just Stop Oil Heathrow Airport protest fails – again

Just Stop Oil protesters have been removed from Heathrow airport following another failed protest.

Several activists sat or stood by the gates to departures in the London airport’s Terminal 5, before some of them were physically removed by police.

It follows several other damp squib demonstrations at airports this week. On Monday, holidaymakers at Gatwick stepped over activists who had attempted to block security gates, while on Tuesday two Just Stop Oil members reportedly sprayed information boards, windows and the floor in Heathrow Terminal 5’s departures area with orange paint.

A Heathrow spokesperson said: “Earlier this morning a protest incident in Terminal 5 was swiftly resolved and all involved were immediately removed from the airport.

“Our priority will always be to maintain the safety of passengers and colleagues, and we’ll continue to work closely with our partners and the police in taking proportionate action to protect travel plans this summer. Unlawful and irresponsible protest activity is not the way forward and will not be tolerated.”

The Telegraph understands that the protesters did not daub orange paint on anything – unlike their protest earlier this week – and did not glue themselves to the floor or any other structures.

Just Stop Oil, which is calling on the Government to establish a “fossil fuel treaty”, vowed last week to use “all means necessary” to disrupt summer holidays.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “At 08:48hrs on Thursday, 1 August, officers at Heathrow Airport became aware of protesters blocking a security lane at Terminal Five.

“Seven protesters were arrested on suspicion of interfering with key national infrastructure contrary to Section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023. They were taken to a west London police station where they remain at this time.

“The incident was complete at 09:08hrs. “Inquiries are ongoing.”

It comes the day after two of Just Stop Oil’s numbers were jailed for breaking their bail conditions.

Phoebe Plummer, 22, and Jane Touil, 58, were remanded in custody on Wednesday after targeting Heathrow Terminal 5 in a similar protest on Tuesday.

Both were out on bail after committing previous offenses while carrying out protests for the group, which wants the Government to commit to banning all fossil fuels.

Just Stop Oil claimed that two of the seven people arrested on Thursday were septuagenarians.

Di Bligh, 77, a former chief executive of Reading Borough Council, and Ruth Cook, 72, from Somerset, were both said by the group to have been arrested by police.

‘I want to tell my grandchildren that I did all I could’

In a prepared statement seeking to justify obstructing travelers in Heathrow Terminal 5 this morning, Ms Bligh said: “Electric cars and windfarms won’t do it: governments must act together before we reach more tipping points into chaos than we can prevent. “We need our political leaders to act now, by working with other nations to establish a legally binding treaty to stop the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030.”

Ms Cook added, in a statement issued by Just Stop Oil: “I am here for my two grandchildren, my two grandnieces who have just come into this world, and for all children – what future will they face? “I want to be able to look at them in the eye and tell them that I did all that I could.”

The protest group claimed that a total of 17 people had been arrested this morning, including ten people detained on public transport, six blocking travelers and one person filming the protesters.

Police appear to have arrested the protest inside the airport terminal within 15-20 minutes of it beginning, with Just Stop Oil saying its protesters began waving placards saying “oil kills” at “around 08.50am”.