Climate protesters arrested for spraying orange paint on Stonehenge monument

Two climate protesters who sprayed orange paint on the ancient Stonehenge monument in southern England were arrested on Wednesday after two passers-by intervened to stop them.

Just Stop Oil's latest act was quickly condemned by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as a “disgraceful act of vandalism”. Labor leader Keir Starmer, his main opponent in next month's election, described the group as “pathetic” and said the damage was “scandalous”.

The incident happened just a day before thousands of people were expected to gather around the approximately 4,500-year-old stone circle to celebrate the summer solstice – the longest day of the year in the 'northern hemisphere.

English Heritage, which manages the site, said it was “extremely upsetting” and that conservationists were investigating the damage. Just Stop Oil said the paint was made from cornstarch and would dissolve in rain.

A video posted by the group showed a man identified as Rajan Naidu, 73, releasing an orange mist from a fire extinguisher-style paint sprayer onto one of the vertical stones.

As voices shouted 'stop', a person wearing a cap and raincoat ran and grabbed Naidu's arm and tried to pull him away from the monument.

A man in a blue shirt joined us and moved the paint sprayer away.

The second protester, identified as Niamh Lynch, 21, managed to throw three stones before the first passerby wearing the hat stopped her.

Wiltshire Police said the two men were arrested on suspicion of damaging one of the world's most famous prehistoric monuments and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Stonehenge was built on the flat lands of Salisbury Plain in stages 5,000 years ago, with a single stone circle erected in the late Neolithic, around 2,500 BC.

Just Stop Oil is one of several environmental groups in Europe that have received attention – and backlash – for disrupting sporting events, splashing paint and food on famous works of art and interrupting traffic to draw attention to global warming.

The group said it acted in response to the Labor Party's recent election platform. Labor has said that if it wins the July 4 election it will not grant new licenses for oil and gas exploration. Just Stop Oil supports the moratorium but believes it is not enough.

In a statement, the group said Labor, which is leading in the polls and widely expected by pundits and politicians to lead the next government, must go further and sign a treaty to phase out fossil fuels from by 2030.

“Continuing to burn coal, oil and gas will lead to the deaths of millions of people,” the group said in a statement.