Three Just Stop Oil protesters who targeted Stonehenge acquitted

Three Just Stop Oil (JSO) protesters were yesterday cleared over a protest at Stonehenge during which orange powder was sprayed on to the prehistoric monument.

- Steven Morris

Rajan Naidu, 74, Niamh Lynch, 23, and Luke Watson, 36, targeted Stonehenge the day before last year's summer solstice. JSO said the action had brought more attention from around the globe than any of its other protests. The three argued their peaceful protest was justified because of the focus on the climate emergency that flowed from it.

Salisbury crown court heard the protesters had used "colour blasters" to spray the stones in Wiltshire. It cost £620 to remove the powder and there was no lasting damage. The three had faced charges including causing a public nuisance, which has a maximum jail term of 10 years. The law has been widely criticised as an attack on the right to protest.

In his summing up, Judge Paul Dugdale said that to find the three guilty, the jury would have had to be satisfied a conviction would be a proportionate interference in their rights to freedom of expression and protest.