Three Just Stop Oil protesters charged with trespass over Lord's stunt
Three Just Stop Oil protesters are charged with aggravated trespass after storming the Lord’s pitch at the Ashes before being carried off by Jonny Bairstow and security team
Three Just Stop Oil protesters were today charged with aggravated trespass after storming the Lord’s pitch during yesterday’s Ashes test.
Daniel Knorr, a 21-year-old biochemistry student from Oxford, Jason Bourne, a 26-year-old from Leeds, and Judit Murray, a 69-year-old grandmother from Surrey, ran onto the world’s most famous cricket ground while hurling orange powder into the air.
England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow was forced to take matters into his own hands by physically stopping Knorr and carrying him across the outfield – to cheers from the crowd.
Knorr, who was arrested in April trying to scale and cover ‘Dippy the Diplodocus’ with orange powder at a Coventry gallery, looked utterly delighted as a quietly determined Bairstow lugged him away before dumping him on the boundary for security to deal with. He was then dragged off by police.
The student will appear alongside his two co-defendants at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on July 31. The charges carry a maximum penalty of three months’ imprisonment.
England cricket star Jonny Bairstow was hailed ‘a hero’ for carrying Daniel Knorr off the pitch at Lord’s yesterday
Knorr – a 21-year-old biochemistry student from Oxford – is pictured posing with a Croc
Grandmother Judit Murray, 69, was arrested at the grounds alongside the two young men
Announcing the charges today, the Met’s Superintendent Gerry Parker said: ‘We will not tolerate criminal or anti-social behaviour and there are serious consequences for people who engage in criminal acts.’
Today it emerged Knorr had recorded a video shortly before he stormed Lord’s, which was shared by Just Stop Oil on Twitter last night. He said: ‘I think I should be pretty nervous, s***ing myself as they say, but I feel quite serene because I don’t have a choice. It is too terrible to think of’.
He said that 10million people a year could die from extreme heat and our ‘food system collapsing’.
He added: ‘Everything we know about our current way of life will not be able to continue. I don’t want to live through that – I don’t want anyone else to live through that really. I feel that I have to do something. If it has a small chance of convincing other people to do something, then I’ll do it’.
England cricket captain Ben Stokes and Australian batsman David Warner also intervened, chasing one protester away from the wicket, before security officials were able to tackle them to the ground and drag them away.
The incident came after one of Just Stop Oil’s wealthy backers, California entrepreneur Trevor Neilson, told members to stop the stunts claiming it is alienating people.
Knorr was one of two JSO protesters tackled as they entered the ‘Dippy the Dinosaur’ display at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in Coventry in April – but were stopped.
Police officers picked up Knorr and carried him away after Bairstow intervened
Daniel Knorr is led away from a Coventry museum by a police officer following the failed stunt to scale and cover ‘Dippy the Diplodocus’ with orange powder in April
Knorr lay motionless after being tackled by security guards, who were able to confiscate a rucksack filled with paint under Dippy in April
Footage posted by the protest group showed Knorr, 21, and Victoria Lindsell, 67, climb over a low metal barrier before being tackled to the ground by staff in high-vis jackets.
Both have been charged with having an article with intent to destroy or damage property and face trial later this year.
Yesterday three Just Stop Oil protesters managed to run on to the historic turf while throwing orange powder into the air, despite assurances from Marylebone Cricket Club [MCC], the proprietor of Lord’s, that there would be adequate security in place to stop pitch invaders.
The MCC had said they would ramp up security to mitigate the risk of a pitch invasion from Just Stop Oil activists. But this failed.
In March a spokesman for the MCC had said they had ‘enhanced existing provisions’ and had a number of security measures in place, ‘some visible, some less so, to deter [protest].’
Activists had purchased tickets for the test match and had hidden amongst the crowd, before running onto the pitch around 11am.
Responding to the Just Stop Oil protest at the Lord’s cricket Test, Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said: ‘I will never surrender our economy and security to these anarchist stunts.’
Bairstow caught and carried Knorr before he could damage the pitch
Bairstow dumped the eco-moron on the boundary for security and police to deal with
Bairstow hands the protester over to security staff and returns to the pitch
Spectators applauded Jonny Bairstow after he carried the protester off the pitch. He had to change his clothes and was cheered through the famous Long Room at Lord’s
Police officers escort Knorr to a police van – he has been placed in a blue robe due to his clothes being covered in paint
A third activist arrested after they interrupted play on the first day of the 2nd Ashes Test
In a reference to the Labour Party – which has accepted donations from JSO backer Dale Vince – Mr Shapps said: ‘Labour might have surrendered to Just Stop Oil but England never will.’
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman also condemned the protest and praised Jonny Bairstow for hauling a protester off the pitch.
‘These sorts of selfish, guerrilla tactics that target events bringing joy to millions are exactly why the Government brought in new powers so the police can take swift action,’ he said.
‘The Prime Minister is pleased play was able to resume quickly and thanks security staff, the swift hands of Jonny Bairstow and other England players who stepped in.’
Asked whether the PM would encourage members of the public to take matters into their own hands, the spokesman added: ‘I think, obviously, there is a reason we empowered the police to take action, and that’s what we see day-to-day.
‘Obviously, these were unusual circumstances.’
Cricket fan William Atkinson, who witnessed the disruption said: ‘A chorus of boos burst from the stands from Anglo and Aussie cricket fans alike, as eco-protesters ran onto the pitch.
‘To a chorus of jeers, the timewasters were escorted out – thanks to the Herculean efforts of the cricket stars- before play quickly resumed.’
Assistant Editor of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack Kit Harris said: ‘The aim [of Just Stop Oil’s campaign] appears to be to take a cause with which the majority of people might naturally be sympathetic and make it as unpopular as possible.’
Watching at home, cricket fans were quick to praise the players’ quick-thinking including David Warner and Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes also got involved as he stopped the second man before security personnel arrived
Police officers apprehended the invaders (pictured) once they had been cleared off the pitch by England cricketer Jonny Bairstow
Ground staff cleaning up orange powder thrown by Just Stop Oil protesters on Wednesday
All three activists were forcibly removed from the pitch within a few minutes and arrested for aggravated trespassing.
Ground staff then had to clean orange powder from the square before the match was able to resume.
Last night MCC spokesperson Guy Lavender said: ‘MCC condemn in the strongest possible terms today’s pitch incursion.
Just Stop Oil’s actions not only endanger themselves and those who work at the ground but show a complete disregard for the people who pay to attend events.
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said: ‘It’s time for cricket lovers and all those who understand the severity of this situation, to get onto the streets and demand action from this illegitimate, criminal government.’
Grandmother Judit, 69, who participated in the protest said: ‘I have to take action for my seven beautiful grandchildren.
‘I can’t bear to imagine the suffering that they will have to endure because of this government continuing to licence new oil, coal and gas.’
In 2009, Lord’s became the first UK sports venue to employ a full-time Sustainability Manager
Since 2016 Lord’s electricity has been entirely generated by wind power, reducing its annual carbon footprint from utilities by 80 per cent.
Last month, radical activists from the infamous eco-group coated flowers at the Chelsea Flower Show in orange flower.
The group’s supporters have also sabotaged the World Snooker Championships and chucked tomato soup over Van Gogh’s Sunflowers.
Just Stop Oil is demanding the UK government immediately halt new oil, gas and coal projects in the UK.
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