Just Stop Oil march in London on ‘last day of action’

Hundreds of Just Stop Oil (JSO) protesters have marched through London for the group’s “last day of action”.

A mass of people wearing JSO’s signature orange vests rallied in Westminster on Saturday afternoon after the group claimed a victory on new oil and gas licences and said “we’re hanging up the hi vis”.

Last month JSO announced it would stop direct action and announced it had won its demand to end new oil and gas.

The group has drawn attention, criticism and jail terms for protests ranging from throwing soup on Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers and spray painting Charles Darwin’s grave to climbing on gantries over the M25.

In its March statement announcing the end of direct action, 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.”

The Labour government has said it will not issue licences for new oil and gas exploration, while a series of recent court cases have halted fossil fuel projects including oil drilling in Surrey, a coal mine in Cumbria and the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields in the North Sea over climate pollution.

Labour has distanced itself from Just Stop Oil, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer criticising its actions and saying protesters must face the full force of the law.