Just Stop Oil activists who sprayed Stonehenge with orange powder have been found not guilty of criminal damage.
Rajan Naidu, aged 74, and 23-year-old former Oxford University student, Niamh Lynch had been accused of using two colour blasters filled with cornflour, talc and an orange dye to spray the ancient monument.
Salisbury Crown Court was told the pair – together with a third activist, Luke Watson, aged 36 – targeted Stonehenge as part of an ongoing fossil fuel protest by the Just Stop Oil group.
The attack on the monument took place on June 19, 2024, the day before the annual summer solstice event at Stonehenge where around 15,000 people were due to gather and celebrate.
Naidu and Lynch had crossed the boundary ropes and trespassed into the area around the monument before launching the attack.
Watson had bought the equipment used in the attack and had driven his co-accused to Stonehenge that morning.
Prosecutors alleged the protest had been "carefully planned" and was filmed by other Just Stop Oil supporters and released publicly afterwards.
Simon Jones, prosecuting, said: "Putting it simply, we say they were all in it together.
The three defendants each denied charges of damaging an ancient protected monument and causing a public nuisance on June 19, 2024
| JUST STOP OIL"The prosecution say that this is an act of blatant and clear vandalism. The intention is undoubtedly to make a statement."
Following the attack, Naidu and Lynch, who were both wearing white Just Stop Oil t-shirts, sat down in silence in front of the stones until they were arrested by the police.
The court heard the stones were promptly cleaned, with the costs of removing the powder totalling £620.
Mr Jones added: "Stonehenge is arguably the best recognised and architecturally sophisticated prehistoric stone circle in the world, built around 5,000 years ago.
"The site in Wiltshire is visited by members of the public from all over the world, providing both an education and spiritual experience.
Following the attack, Naidu and Lynch sat down in silence in front of the stones until they were arrested
|JUST STOP OIL/PA
Rajan Naidu and Niamh Lynch had been accused of using two colour blasters filled with cornflour, talc and an orange dye to spray the ancient monument
|PA
"The stones are a protected ancient monument."
The three defendants all denied charges of damaging an ancient protected monument and causing a public nuisance on June 19, 2024.
They each accepted taking part in the protest and cited in their defence "reasonable excuse" and their rights under Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights to freedom of speech and freedom to protest.
The defendants argued it was a peaceful protest, that the rights of others were not "greatly interfered with", that care had been taken in choosing the type of powder to use, there was no lasting damage to the stones and that protesting about fossil fuels was a legitimate cause.
Judge Paul Dugdale told the jury in his legal directions they had to assess where the "balance lies" in the case and whether a conviction would be a "proportionate interference" with the defendants’ rights.
He said: "In any society there will be those whose opinions we agree with and those whose opinions we disagree.
"The essence of a free society and freedom of speech is that everyone’s entitled to express their opinion even when we disagree with what they say.
"If individuals disagree with what our Government is doing on certain matters they are entitled to protest about the Government’s actions or inactions.
"There are times when protecting the right to freedom of speech and freedom to protest can mean that activity that would otherwise be unlawful would be regarded as lawful by the court to protect those rights."
The jury found Naidu, of Gosford Street, Birmingham, Lynch, of Norfolk Road in Turvey, Bedford, and Watson, of The Street, Manuden, Essex, each not guilty of the two charges after deliberating for six hours.
After the jury returned its verdicts, the three defendants hugged each other in the dock before leaving and celebrating with family and friends sitting in the public gallery.
Watson, a carpenter, has compared the activists' actions to a magic trick.
The activists attacked the monument the day before the annual summer solstice event at Stonehenge | PA"We were very confident that it wouldn’t cause any damage or harm anybody that was there," he told The Guardian.
"It’s a bit like a magic trick. Let’s say you’re a magician – you do the trick, or you cut the lady in half, but there’s a brief moment where everyone thinks that is what you did and that’s what gets the attention."
Speaking after the trio were found not guilty, he said: "I’m glad of the verdict but feel the last two weeks have been a complete waste of public money and that a case involving £620 of damage should have been dealt with in the magistrates court."