After environmental activists sprayed an orange substance on Stonehenge, a UNESCO world heritage site in southwest England, police arrested two people on Wednesday.
A video of the activists spray painting the renowned prehistoric monument was shared on social media by the Just Stop Oil protest group. The protest group demanded that Britain’s next government legally commit to phasing out fossil fuels by 2030.
“Two people took action the day before Summer Solstice, demanding the incoming government sign up to a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030,” Just Stop Oil captioned the video.
The incident has drawn the ire of several British leaders. British PM Rishi Sunak called it “a disgraceful act of vandalism to one of the UK’s and the world’s oldest and most important monuments”.
“Just Stop Oil should be ashamed of their activists,” he added.
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In a statement, the Wiltshire Police said it had arrested two people following the incident. “Officers attended the scene and arrested two people on suspicion of damaging the ancient monument. Our inquiries are ongoing and we are working closely with English Heritage,” said the police.
In the video of the act, activists wearing “Just Stop Oil” branded T-shirts can be seen spraying a cluster of megalithic standing stones with the orange substance from a small canister.
The group said Niamh Lynch, a 21-year-old student, and Rajan Naidu, 73, had used “orange cornflour” for the stunt, reported news agency AFP. It claimed the substance would “soon wash away with the rain”.
English Heritage, the public body which manages the site, said its experts were probing the matter to ascertain the extent of the damage to the monument.
An English Heritage spokeswoman condemned the incident, calling it “extremely upsetting”. She said that curators were investigating the extent of the damage.