Organisers scramble to protect summer’s biggest sporting events from Just Stop Oil disruption
Organisers of this summer’s biggest sporting events are to step up security after Just Stop Oil protesters struck at the Ashes and Wimbledon.
Ministers held a summit at Downing Street with police and sports bodies including the Lawn Tennis Association, the Premier League and the England and Wales Cricket Board just as the climate change group twice disrupted play at SW19.
Organisations told Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer and police they were reinforcing security measures with more stewards as well as considering securing more injunctions to allow officers to act quickly against disruption.
Just Stop Oil threw orange confetti and jigsaw pieces on to Court 18 at Wimbledon on Wednesday afternoon, stopping play twice for nearly an hour each time.
It followed protesters invading the pitch at Lord’s last week during the Second Ashes test.
Yorkshire County Cricket Club has hired “sprinter stewards” ready to intervene if the group strikes at Headingley for the Third Test this week.
Other sporting events that could be hit this summer include the British Open at Hoylake and British Grand Prix at Silverstone later this month and the start of the football season in August.
At the No 10 summit, representatives of the National Police Chiefs’ Council and National Police Co-ordination Centre updated attendees on preparations at events this summer, including intelligence gathering to foil activists’ plans.
The Home Secretary committed to a “continued dialogue” with event organisers to learn lessons from the protests.
She said: “The protesters at Wimbledon were determined to ruin the day’s play for spectators and sports fans across the world.
“This is unacceptable. We will be uncompromisingly tough on the selfish protesters intent on spoiling our world-class sporting occasions this summer.
“The discussions I chaired at Downing Street were very productive. Sports, police and government are united against preventing further disruption of this kind.”
Police are able to use powers under the new Public Order Act, which criminalises activities such as “locking on” and can stop and search protesters for items like padlocks and superglue.
Ms Frazer said: “We convened a roundtable of event organisers and the police to redouble efforts to prevent further disruption to the Great British Summer of Sport, as we have seen at Wimbledon.
“We must protect the right to peaceful protest, but that does not give licence to a vocal minority to spoil events that millions of us enjoy.
“Anyone thinking of attempting to disrupt these events should think again.”
