Benjamin Franklin was right. In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and Just Stop Oil protests.

On Thursday the orange stuff made an appearance at the Chelsea Garden Show, and today (27 May) two demonstrators ran onto the Twickenham pitch to douse the grounds in powder.

One of the protesters, Dr Patrick Hart, 37, said: “I am doing this because it’s my duty as a doctor. The climate crisis is the greatest health crisis humanity has ever faced. People are dying now and more will die every day unless we stop new oil, gas, and coal.”

The match between Saracens and Sale was stopped for approximately five minutes while stewards removed them from the pitch. One steward tackled a demonstrator to the ground, for which the crowd cheered. It is amazing how quick people are to anger.

This protest took five minutes out of the match, and yet as they ran onto the pitch the protesters were met with a hounding of boos as if they would be able to stop it entirely.

Dr Hart said: “In the same way the tobacco companies lied to us that tobacco was safe, the scrum of fossil fuel companies and corrupt politicians have been lying to us. They are keeping us addicted to fossil fuels, even though they know it’s killing us. I am not prepared to let them get away with mass murder. 

Just Stop Oil is continuing to demand that the UK Government immediately halts all new oil and gas consents and licences.

“We are ordinary people. We are the doctors and nurses who care for you when you are sick. I call on everyone to come and join us in the streets and be on the right side of history.”

The protest group has made headlines in the last few months for their increasingly frequent public demonstrations. Most notably, prior to this, supporters climbed down from the stands at Sheffield’s Crucible arena to throw orange paint over a snooker table at the World Championships in April.

The introduction of the Public Order Act last month introduces a new criminal offence for ‘locking on’ to buildings or objects, a common tactic employed by Just Stop Oil. Such actions will now result in a year-long jail term or unlimited fine – perhaps explaining protestors’ pivot to targeting events, rather than infrastructure.

Images + Quotes: @JustStop_Oil