Just Stop Oil has announced it will stop protesting in the controversial way they have become famous for. The group said it is to cease direct action, with a final protest in Parliament Square on April 26.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the group said: “Just Stop Oil’s initial demand to end new oil and gas is now Government policy, making us one of the most successful civil resistance campaigns in recent history. We’ve kept over 4.4 billion barrels of oil in the ground and the courts have ruled new oil and gas licences unlawful.
“So it is the end of soup on Van Goghs, cornstarch on Stonehenge and slow marching in the streets. But it is not the end of trials, of tagging and surveillance, of fines, probation and years in prison.
The organisation added: “As corporations and billionaires corrupt political systems across the world, we need a different approach. We are creating a new strategy, to face this reality and to carry our responsibilities at this time. Nothing short of a revolution is going to protect us from the coming storms.”
Here we take a look at some of the wildest ways they have let their feelings known in the past.
Just Stop Oil’s craziest protests
Confetti on the tennis court
Three Just Stop Oil protesters stormed the Wimbledon tennis courts with confetti and puzzle pieces.
Deborah Wilde, 69, Simon Milner-Edwards, 67, and William Ward, 66, were found guilty of aggravated trespass at City of London Magistrates' Court on Monday.
The trio scaled a barrier and threw the items on the court during the third day of The Championships tournament in July.
Spray paint on Stonehenge
Two Just Stop Oil campaigners sprayed powder paint on the historic Stonehenge site in June 2024.
It happened just days before planned celebrations began for the Summer Solstice at the 5,000-year-old landmark, with the group saying the orange powder paint was cornflour and it would "wash away with rain".
The group named the two protesters as Niamh Lynch, a 21-year-old student from Oxford, and Rajan Naidu, a 73-year-old from Birmingham, in a statement.
Theatre hold up
In October 2023, protestors held up a West End production to spread their message.
Five protesters disrupted the performance of Les Misérables at the Sondheim Theatre in London’s West End, interrupting one of the big songs of the show.
During a performance of the song Do You Hear the People Sing?, members of the Just Stop Oil group stormed the stage with banners as audience members booed.
Technical staff quickly came on stage, the safety curtain came down followed by the main curtain and eventually, they were removed, but the performance was cancelled.
M25 Chaos
Five supporters of the climate activist group were actually given jail time after holding one of the country’s busiest roads.
The group climbed gantries over the M25 in an attempt to cause gridlock on the motorway in November 2022, leading to the road being shut as police tried to keep them safe and move them on.
George Simonson and Theresa Higginson were sentenced to two years each, Paul Bell was sentenced to 22 months, and Gaie Delap and Paul Sousek were sentenced to 20 months for their part in the protests.
A sixth defendant, Daniel Johnson, was given a 21-month sentence suspended for two years and ordered to complete 200 hours of community service.
All six had pleaded guilty to causing a public nuisance for their part in the four days of disruption on the M25 as they said they wanted to “force the government into a ban on new fossil fuel exploration in the North Sea”.
Soup on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers
Two young protestors threw tomato soup over Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London in 2022 and were jailed for the stunt.
The young supporters of the climate protest group threw the liquid over the painting, which is protected by glass, just after 11am before gluing themselves to the wall beneath the artwork.
“What is worth more, art or life?” said one of the activists, Phoebe Plummer, 21, from London. She was accompanied by 20-year-old Anna Holland, from Newcastle. “Is it worth more than food? More than justice? Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people?”
The painting was left unscathed as it is covered in glass and the National Gallery cleared the room shortly after the incident as police got involved.
Prom interruption
In July 2023, two protestors interrupted the First Night of the Proms at London's Royal Albert Hall.
The duo mounted the stage and were met with boos and jeers from some members of the audience at the BBC's classical music festival, before being led away by security staff.
Charles Darwin’s grave
Two people used chalk paint on the naturalist’s grave in Westminster Abbey in January.
Alyson Lee, 66, a retired teaching assistant from Derby, and Di Bligh, a 77-year-old former chief executive of Reading Council, from Rode in Somerset, were involved in the action, the organisation said.
The Metropolitan police confirmed two women were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage “with what is believed to be powdered paint at Westminster Abbey”.
Robot wars
Two supporters poured orange liquid latex over an Optimus robot at the Westfield Tesla store in London just last week in March 2025. They were demanding the UK government phase out fossil fuel burning by 2030.
The pair climbed onto a podium display and poured the liquid latex over the life-sized humanoid robot. They unfurled a Just Stop Oil banner as they completed the deed, for which they were arrested shortly after.
Flight frenzy
Supporters caused travel chaos in July 2024 when eight people targeted Gatwick Airport's departure gates.
The group entered the South Terminal and "used suitcases with lock-on devices to block the departure gates". They were arrested shortly after.
The action is part of the "Oil Kills international uprising", the group said, taking action at airports around the world.
