Who are the Silverstone protesters?

We speak to the campaign group who grabbed the headlines during yesterday’s Grand Prix

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By Natalie Bloomer

Seven people were arrested yeaterday after protesters stormed the Silverstone race track following a crash during the first lap of the British Grand Prix.

The race was ‘red flagged’ after Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu crashed into the barriers. However, while medics and marshalls attended the incident, protesters from the Just Stop Oil campaign group climbed a fence and got onto the track. 

They were quickly removed and the police made arrests but who is Just Stop Oil and why did they target Silverstone? We spoke to them to find out. 

What they stand for

Just Stop Oil is a coalition of groups calling on the government to stop the licensing and production of fossil fuels in the UK. The organisation believes that without immediate action the climate crisis will lead to social collapse with communities being destroyed and the poorest suffering from starvation. The organisation’s website says:

“In eight years we need to end our reliance on fossil fuels completely. The transition will require massive investment in clean technology, renewables and energy storage but it cannot be done at current levels of energy consumption. We need to cut energy demand by insulating Britain and rethinking how we travel including providing free public transport everywhere. 

“This starts by switching government subsidies from dirty fossil fuels towards clean energy, transport and insulation.”

Other protests

Even if you haven’t heard of the group by name, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of some of their other direct actions. In recent months they have sprayed red paint over the front of the Treasury to demonstrate ‘the government has blood on its hands’, they’ve entered oil terminals and blocked motorway service stations, disrupted premier league football matches and just last week glued themselves to a Van Gogh painting at the Courtauld Gallery in London.