Just Stop Oil target Taylor Swift private jet in Stansted airfield after fury over Stonehenge stunt

Orange paint was sprayed onto multiple jets at the airfield after the activist gain access by cutting through a surrounding fence with an angle grinder at around 5am on Thursday morning (June 20). The activists were identified by Just Stop Oil as Cole Macdonald, 22, from Brighton, and Jennifer Kowalski, 28, from Dumbarton.

The pair took part in the protest after Taylor Swift landed her own private jet at the airfield just hours earlier, however it is unknown whether the planes targeted by the protesters belong to Taylor’s team. The singer is currently in the middle of the UK leg of her Eras Tours and travelled from Cardiff to London for three sold out shows at Wembley Stadium.

Macdonald said: “We’re living in two worlds: one where billionaires live in luxury, able to fly in private jets away from the other, where unlivable conditions are being imposed on countless millions. Meanwhile, this system that is allowing extreme wealth to be accrued by a few, to the detriment of everyone else, is destroying the conditions necessary to support human life in a rapidly accelerating never-ending ‘cruel summer’. Billionaires are not untouchable, climate breakdown will affect every single one of us.”

Kowalski, a former sustainability manager, added: “In 2024 we all have to be considering what we can do each day to change the course our society is on. We need an emergency treaty to stop the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030.”

A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said: “Whilst governments are allowing oil corporations to run amok destroying our communities, the actions of individuals mean very little. That’s why Just Stop Oil is demanding that our next government sign up to a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030.

“Failure to defend the people they represent will mean Just Stop Oil supporters, along with citizens from Austria, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and Switzerland will join in resistance this summer, if their own Governments do not take meaningful action.”

Essex Police confirmed that two women were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and interference with the use of national infrastructure following the stunt.

It comes as widespread fury erupted after Just Stop Oil activists targeted Stonehenge with orange paint on Wednesday, June 19. The moment, which saw two supporters spray orange powdery paint over the historic, ancient structure, was blasted as “a disgraceful act of vandalism” by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Wiltshire Police confirmed that two people were arrested following the Stonehenge incident, which occurred just one day before the summer solstice. Just Stop Oil said in a statement: “Stonehenge at solstice is all about celebrating the natural world - but look at the state it's in! We all have a right to live a life free from suffering, but continued burning of oil, coal and gas is leading to death and suffering on an unparalleled scale.

“It’s time for us to think about what our civilization will leave behind – what is our legacy? Standing inert for generations works well for stones – not climate policy.”