Four people have been arrested afer Just Stop Oil activists targeted a multinational energy firm’s base in Canary Wharf in a paint attack on Tuesday morning.
Four JSO protesters entered TotalEnergies’ UK headquarters around 8am, dousing its lobby with black paint from fire extinguishers.
Meanwhile outside, four more activists sprayed the building’s exterior with orange paint before sitting down to “await arrest”.
Scotland Yard said it had arrested four people on suspicion of criminal damage.
Just Stop Oil is calling for an end to new oil, gas and coal projects in the UK. It says it carried out Tuesday’s action alongside around 60 members of Students Against EACOP (the East African Crude Oil Pipeline).
The student group is demanding an immediate suspension of the “destructive” pipeline in Uganda, of which TotalEnergies is the majority shareholder.
Covering nearly 900 miles, the controversial EACOP will transport oil produced from Uganda’s Lake Albert oilfields to the port of Tanga in Tanzania where oil will then be sold on to world markets.
A spokesperson for Students Against EACOP said: “This pipeline is destroying national parks, lakes and rivers, causing massive ecological damage and displacing wildlife.
“Many financial institutions have refused to underwrite this project and if TotalEnergies backs off, the government of Uganda would have a hard time funding this project.”
One of those taking action at Canary Wharf on Tuesday was a 27-year-old Doctor of Philosophy student at the University of Oxford, named only as Solveig.
“I wish we could stop these atrocities through peaceful and quiet protest, but we can’t,” he said. “This is why I have to stand up to Total and push for the de-funding of EACOP.”
TotalEnergies says on its website: “As a responsible operator, TotalEnergies recognises the projects’ environmental and social issues, and takes them into consideration.”
Responding to the protest, a spokespeson for the firm said: “TotalEnergies fully respects the right to demonstrate and freedom of expression, but deplores all forms of violence, whether verbal, physical or material. TotalEnergies promotes transparent and constructive dialogue with all its stakeholders.”
Just Stop Oil launched its campaign on February 14, 2022, and has frequently carried out public stunts involving paint, and bringing key London roads to a standstill. It says its protesters have been arrested 2,200 times, and 138 people have spent time in prison.
