Just Stop Oil protesters arrested after disrupting Wimbledon

Two Just Stop Oil protesters have been arrested after disrupting Wimbledon by throwing orange-coloured confetti and jigsaw pieces on Court 18.

Organisers announced on Twitter that the pair were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage after running onto the court during a match between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro.

The Metropolitan Police said on Twitter that a man and a woman were now in custody after the incident.

Just Stop Oil has named the activists as Deborah Wilde and Simon Milner-Edwards.

Wimbledon tweeted: “Following an incident on Court 18, two individuals have been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage and these individuals have now been removed from the Grounds.

“Play on the court was temporarily paused and, following a suspension in play due to a rain delay, play is about to resume.”

The crowd jeered them before they were escorted away by security guards and police.

Grounds staff came on to pick the confetti and jigsaw pieces up while one member used a leafblower.

The protest happened as Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer held talks with police and sports chiefs to discuss how to prevent Just Stop Oil activists targeting flagship events.

The second Ashes Test at Lord’s, the Gallagher Premiership rugby final at Twickenham and the World Snooker Championship have all been affected in recent months.

In a statement, Just Stop Oil said “we can’t leave it to the next generation to pick up the pieces”.

Deborah Wilde, 68, a retired teacher from London, ran on the court shortly after 2.10pm.

She said: “I’m just an ordinary grandmother in resistance to this Government’s policy of serving us new oil and gas licences. In normal circumstances this sort of disruption would be entirely unacceptable, but these aren’t normal circumstances.

“We’ve just had the hottest June on record, breaking the previous record by nearly a whole degree! We don’t need Hawk-eye to see that our Government issuing over 100 new fossil fuel licences is a very bad line-call.

“Forget strawberries and cream, scientists are warning of impending food shortages, mass displacement and war.

“We are facing new pandemics, economic inflation and increasingly authoritarian governments who will attempt to crush civil unrest.

“This is a crisis and it needs a crisis response. I want a safe future, not just for my grandchildren but for all children around the world and the generations to come.”

The last thing I want to do is spoil people’s enjoyment of Wimbledon, but right now, on Centre Court, it’s humanity versus oil and gas – and the umpire is getting every call wrong

The other Just Stop Oil protester who invaded Court 18 was Simon Milner-Edwards, 66, a retired musician, from Manchester.

He said: “I’m here for my grandchildren and everybody else’s. I’m not prepared to let our politicians wreck everything and leave the next generation to pick up the pieces.

“The last thing I want to do is spoil people’s enjoyment of Wimbledon, but right now, on Centre Court, it’s humanity versus oil and gas – and the umpire is getting every call wrong.

“How long are we going to take this before we see a McEnroe-level meltdown?”

The jigsaw pieces were thrown from a Wimbledon-branded box labelled: “Centre Court View Puzzle”.

The protest did not disrupt proceedings for long because rain started falling shortly after.

The match resumed 45 minutes later.

More than 10,000 fans joined the Wimbledon queue on Wednesday and organisers had warned of long waits.

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said more people queued on Wednesday than Tuesday, with stewards in Wimbledon Park suggesting the longer lines were down to an improved weather forecast.

Organisers warned on Twitter that new joiners would probably have to wait “several hours” for entry with the grounds set to be at capacity.

There were 38,441 in attendance for Tuesday’s rain-affected matches, compared with 42,815 on day one of the championships.

This was down 3% from the 39,450 spectators on day two last year, and the lowest figure for the second day of Wimbledon since 2016.

The tournament is playing catch-up after 69 matches were cancelled over the course of Tuesday afternoon due to the weather.