Just Stop Oil activist targets Heathrow five days after van Gogh guilty verdict

A Just Stop Oil activist who threw soup at a Vincent van Gogh painting has been arrested again after spraying paint on departure boards at Heathrow Airport.

Phoebe Plummer, 22, was one of two women involved in a protest at the west London airport on Tuesday morning.

They sprayed orange paint from large cylinders on departure boards, floors and glass walls inside Terminal 5.

The Metropolitan Police said the pair were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.

Officers “remain in the area to deal with any further offences”, the force added.

A video issued by Just Stop Oil shows the women carry out the protest near check-in desks for at least three minutes and 55 seconds without being approached by police officers or airport staff.

In the footage, one member of the public is heard exclaiming: “Oh my goodness, what is this?”

A Heathrow spokesman said: “Working with partners, we have quickly resolved a protest incident in Terminal 5 and all involved have been removed from the airport.

“The airport continues to operate as normal and passengers are travelling as planned.

“We are in full agreement that the aviation industry needs to decarbonise, but unlawful and irresponsible protest activity is not the way forward and will not be tolerated.”

The incident happened just five days since Plummer and another activist, Anna Holland, also 22, were found guilty of criminal damage at Southwark Crown Court after throwing tinned soup over Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers at London’s National Gallery in October 2022.

Prosecutors said they caused as much as £10,000 damage to the artwork’s frame.

Climate activists have repeatedly targeted airports around the world in recent days, in a campaign named Oil Kills.

Just Stop Oil said 21 groups across 12 countries have taken action at 18 airports so far.

In a statement issued by the group, Ms Plummer said: “People around the world are rising up to demand an end to oil by 2030.

“This is an international problem, so ordinary people are doing what our politicians will not, working together globally to put a stop to the harm and suffering that fossil fuels cause.”

Jane Touil, 58, who was the other woman arrested at Heathrow, said: “Ordinary people have to stand up and make their governments do the right thing, because, without pressure from us, they won’t.

“I feel so angry and betrayed that politicians have let this happen when they’ve known about climate breakdown for over 50 years.”