Just Stop Oil activists arrested after spraying paint over jets where Taylor Swift’s plane is stationed
Screen grab taken from handout video of Just Stop Oil protesters spraying orange paint over parked private jets at London Stansted Airport in Essex. Picture: Just Stop Oil/PA Wire
Two women have been arrested after Just Stop Oil activists sprayed orange paint over private jets at Stansted airport on the airfield where Taylor Swift’s plane is stationed.
Two activists entered the private airfield at Stansted airport at around 5am on Thursday and painted two private jets using fire extinguishers filled with orange paint, members said.
Essex Police said two women, aged 22 and 28, have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and interference with the use of national infrastructure.
The force said officers were called shortly before 5.10am on Thursday as it was reported two people had gained access to the airfield before causing damage to two aircraft.
A statement said: “Officers were on the scene within minutes and detained two people.
“The airport and flights are operating as normal.
“A 22-year-old woman from Brighton and a 28-year-old woman from Dumbarton have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and interference with the use or operation of national infrastructure.”
A statement from the group named the pair as Jennifer Kowalski, 28, a former sustainability manager from Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire, and Cole Macdonald, 22, from Brighton.
In a post on X, Just Stop Oil said: “Jennifer and Cole cut the fence into the private airfield at Stansted where @taylorswift13’s jet is parked, demanding an emergency treaty to end fossil fuels by 2030.”
The accompanying video showed one of the activists cutting a hole in the fence before spraying the paint over the jets.
One activist, wearing a Just Stop Oil t-shirt, can then be seen spraying the fuselage and windows of two parked white planes with orange paint, before both then sit together in front of the planes on the tarmac.
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 unliveable 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 said: “Over the years, I’ve had to realise that even working in sustainability provides me with essentially no ability to make the necessary changes to prevent the complete collapse of our natural systems. I have to take desperate measures to make my voice heard.
“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.”
Chief Superintendent of Essex Police, Simon Anslow said: “I would like to reassure passengers and the wider public that we are well prepared and resourced to deal with incidents of this nature.
“Almost immediately after we were made aware of this incident, which took place away from the main passenger terminal, we were on the scene.
“We maintain a constant presence at the airport and this presence will be heightened over the summer period.
“We have a good working relationship with Manchester Airport Group and Stansted Airport to ensure you can go about your travels with minimal impact.
“We are not anti-protest but we will always take action where criminal acts take place.”
It follows the group's latest action on Wednesday where two Just Stop Oil activists sprayed orange paint on the prehistoric Stonehenge stones.
Members of the public were heard shouting “no” and running to intervene as the campaigners, named by the group as Rajan Naidu, 73, and Niamh Lynch, 21, ran up to the stone circle.
Video footage posted on social media showed two people wearing white shirts with the slogan Just Stop Oil, approaching the monoliths with canisters spraying orange paint.
Several of the iconic stones – dating back to the late Neolithic period – were seen covered in orange paint before one protester sat on the grass and the other was detained by a member of the public.
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