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Three people have been arrested after orange paint was sprayed on Wellington Arch in London by Just Stop Oil protesters.

Smoke flares were also set off alongside the Grade I-listed monument, which is nearly 200 years old.

Campaigners used fire extinguishers to spray the paint as part of the protest against new fossil fuel licences.

According to the Just Stop Oil website, one of those taking action at the monument was Joshua Lane, 26, an engineer from Sheffield, who said: “I am compelled to take action due to the severity, and sheer emergency we find ourselves in today.

“Future generations live in uncertainty, and we are given false promises time after time by endless pantomime governments.”

Another of the activists, Joe Hogan, 40, from Hertfordshire, said: “Traditional, managed, sanitised forms of protest have done nothing.

“The only way forward is through sustained, disruptive civil resistance.”

The protest comes just weeks after the government backed the development of the UK’s largest untapped oil and gas field at Rosebank, 80 miles west of Shetland.

It came despite warnings about the climate damage of new fossil fuel projects and with analysis showing the project is likely to have little positive impact on the British economy.

The Met Police confirmed it was made aware of the protest just before 10.20am on Wednesday and three people were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.

The protest comes after three other climate campaigners were each given a 12-month community order and 60 hours of unpaid work for invading the pitch at Lord’s cricket ground in London.

Pic:Denise Laura Baker
Image:
Pic: Denise Laura Baker

Pic:Just Stop Oil
Image:
Pic: Just Stop Oil

Read more:
‘Rosebank helps label Tories as party of the past’
Oil field approval is ‘abject madness’, says Packham
Who are Just Stop Oil?

Judit Murray, 69, Daniel Knorr, 21, and Jacob Bourne, 27, were sentenced at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday for stopping play during the second Test between England and Australia on 28 June.

In a separate case at the High Court, 12 Just Stop Oil supporters are accused of breaching a court injunction by staging a protest on the M25 in November last year.

On Tuesday, 76-year-old grandmother Gaie Delap, from Bristol, told the judge in the hearing she had climbed on to a motorway gantry because the “climate emergency” was not being taken seriously enough.

Watch The Climate Show with Tom Heap on Saturday and Sunday at 3pm and 7.30pm on Sky News, on the Sky News website and app, and on YouTube and Twitter.

The show investigates how global warming is changing our landscape and highlights solutions to the crisis.

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Epping council demands government ‘immediately’ close asylum hotel – as Home Office works to ‘restore order’

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Epping council demands government 'immediately' close asylum hotel – as Home Office works to 'restore order'

Epping council has unanimously voted to urge the government to shut a hotel housing asylum seekers after a series of protests.

Epping Forest District Council in Essex passed a motion calling for the Bell Hotel to be “immediately and permanently” closed “for the purposes of asylum processing”.

Several demonstrations have been held outside the hotel since 13 July, after an asylum seeker was charged with allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl.

Police have arrested 18 people and charged nine in connection with the protests.

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Eight officers injured during migrant protest

Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, from Ethiopia, denied sexually assaulting the 14-year-old girl at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court last week and will stand trial in August.

The Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has also reportedly urged the home secretary to review the use of the hotel for housing asylum seekers.

In a letter to Yvette Cooper, Roger Hirst said the hotel is unsuitable for housing migrants and is “clearly creating community tension”, the Telegraph reported.

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Anti-migration protesters in Epping
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Protests in Epping turned violent last week

Home Office ‘working to restore order’

The Home Office has vowed to “restore order,” threatening on Friday to make asylum seekers homeless if they refuse a change of accommodation.

Read more:
Epping: ‘Everyone’s on edge’
Epping the latest flashpoint of frustration

It said a new “failure to travel” policy is looking to tackle “non-compliance by asylum seekers” and will ensure individuals who are moved from hotels to suitable alternative accommodation must take it.

Those who refuse to move without a valid reason will now risk losing their housing and support, the Home Office said.

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Epping migration protest in focus

Dame Angela Eagle, minister for border security and asylum, said: “We are working to close hotels, restore order, and put fairness and value for money at the heart of our asylum system.

“This government is making those necessary decisions to protect the taxpayer and uphold the integrity of our borders.”

Asked specifically about the Epping Forest District Council vote, the Home Office said: “We’ll continue to work closely with local police and community partners, in Epping and across the country, as we fix this broken system.”

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Eight officers injured

Protests outside the Bell Hotel last Thursday began peacefully but escalated into what police described as “scattered incidents of violence,” leaving eight officers injured.

Police are braced for further protests, vowing to act swiftly if unrest spreads.

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There were ‘failings’ in care of ex-England cricketer Graham Thorpe in months before he died, coroner says

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There were 'failings' in care of ex-England cricketer Graham Thorpe in months before he died, coroner says

There were “failings” in the care of former England cricketer Graham Thorpe in the months before he died, a coroner has said.

It comes as Coroner Jonathan Stevens recorded a conclusion of suicide at an inquest into his death in August last year.

Thorpe died at a railway station in Surrey.

Mr Stevens read a statement yesterday during the inquest from Mr Thorpe’s GP Joan Munnelly, detailing the cricketer was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in 2018.

Regarded as one of the finest batters of his generation, Thorpe played 100 Tests for England, scoring 16 centuries and featuring 82 times for the ODI side.

He coached England’s batters and had a 17-year career with Surrey.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

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Jeff Stewart: Actor who played Reg Hollis in The Bill helps police arrest shoplifter

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Jeff Stewart: Actor who played Reg Hollis in The Bill helps police arrest shoplifter

The actor who played PC Reg Hollis in hit TV series The Bill has been praised by officers after helping them arrest a shoplifter.

Jeff Stewart stepped in when a thief attempted to escape on a bicycle in Southampton on Wednesday.

In a statement, a Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: “The thief, 29-year-old Mohamed Diallo, fell off the bike during his attempts to flee, before officers pounced to make their arrest.

“To their surprise, local TV legend Jeff Stewart, who played PC Hollis for 24 years in The Bill, came to their aid by sitting on the suspect’s legs while officers put him in cuffs.

The Bill actors, from left to right; Jeff Stewart, Roberta Taylor, Mark Wingett, Trudie Goodwin and Cyril Nri
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(L-R) Jeff Stewart, Roberta Taylor, Mark Wingett, Trudie Goodwin and Cyril Nri celebrating The Bill’s 21st anniversary in 2004. Pic: PA

“In policing you should always expect the unexpected, but this really wasn’t on The Bill for this week.”

The Bill was broadcast on ITV between 1984 and 2010 and featured the fictional lives of police officers from the Sun Hill police station in east London.

Mr Stewart, who was among the original cast, appeared in more than 1,000 episodes as PC Hollis.

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Still of police footage of actor Jeff Stewart who played PC Reg Hollis in The Bill helping arrest a shoplifter in Southampton
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Police released footage showing their pursuit of a shoplifter in Southampton. Pic: Hampshire Constabulary

Still of police footage of actor Jeff Stewart who played PC Reg Hollis in The Bill helping arrest a shoplifter in Southampton
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As the suspect falls to the floor, PC Hollis (aka Jeff Stewart) sits on his legs. Pic: Hampshire Constabulary

In praising Mr Stewart’s actions, the force said: “Long since retired from Sun Hill station – but he’s still got it.”

Police from the Bargate Neighbourhoods Policing Team were alerted by staff at a Co-op store in Ocean Way to a suspected shoplifter on Wednesday.

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Mohamed Diallo, 29, of Anglesea Road, Southampton, was subsequently charged with five offences of theft relating to coffee, alcohol and food from the Co-op and two other Sainsbury’s stores on three dates in April and July.

He pleaded guilty at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and was bailed to be sentenced on August 29.

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