Just Stop Oil eco-activist to speak in Oxford this week

Just Stop Oil campaigners have urged people to come along to a talk at the Department of Earth and Sciences if they “care about the climate crisis”.

The talk will be led by eco-activist Phoebe Plummer, 21, who recently filmed herself and Anna Holland, 20, throwing a tin of Heinz tomato soup over a £76 million Vincent van Gogh painting.

The Vincent van Gogh painting was the famous 1888 work Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London.

Just Stop Oil protesters in Oxford (Image: Just Stop Oil)

The artwork was protected by a sheet of glass and undamaged, but they were both charged with damaging the frame on October 14, 2021.

Holland, of Newcastle Upon Tyne, and Plummer, of Lambeth, south London, both denied criminal damage.

They were granted bail ahead of their trial on July 22, 2024 and this was on condition they do not enter the grounds of any galleries or museums.

After throwing the soup at Vincent van Gogh’s artwork, Ms Plummer said: “I’d like to think Van Gogh would be one of those people who knows we need to step up into civil disobedience and non-violent direct action.”

She added: “The painting was behind glass, the painting was protected, but as young people, our own futures aren’t protected.”

The Just Stop Oil protesters threw soup at the painting (Image: PA)

The talk will take place between 7pm and 9pm and the event is titled ‘How to Just Stop Oil, Start acting like life depends on it: civil resistance to climate chaos in 2023”.

Yesterday, students walked through the streets of Oxford and held up a banner which said “Students vs Oil”.

A member of the public accompanied them and was playing Elizabethan music on a flute.

Josie, 21, who is studying theology, said she did “not want to protest in the streets” but said she had “no choice” until the government “stopped licensing new gas and oil”.

She called on the government to “follow the science and the advice of its own experts”.

A musician plays the flute and accompanies the protesters (Image: Just Stop Oil)

Another student named Osar, 22, said the main reason they had chosen to march through the streets was “to advertise the talk at the University this Thursday”.

He highlighted that there were “mass arrests of peaceful protesters during the King's Coronation” and said the time was right to “assert our right to campaign non-violently for the things we believe in”.

The artwork was protected by a sheet of glass and undamaged, but they were both charged with damaging the frame on October 14, 2021.

Holland, of Newcastle Upon Tyne, and Plummer, of Lambeth, south London, both denied criminal damage.

The Just Stop Oil campaign was launched on February 14, 2022, and since then there have been 2,100 arrests and 138 people have spent time in prison.

A University of Oxford spokesman said:"This is an externally-organised event booking that the University has assessed in line with its code of practice on meetings and events, as it does with all such requests."