Just Stop Oil and the secret power of the middle class

Just Stop Oil isn’t what it was. When a handful of protestors from the environmental group tried to block a departure gate at Gatwick Airport this week, they failed miserably. It wasn’t much of a protest: they just plonked themselves down and adopted the traditional JSO expression: a stance of neutrality aimed at looking noble and martyrish but, in reality, comes over as suggesting they are mildly constipated. Embarrassed air travellers merely stepped over them, although one traveller did speak for the nation by suggesting that they reconvene elsewhere, using a two-word expression, one of them composed of four letters.

The seven protesters were, after a while, arrested and removed from the scene. But this was not before images emerged of a burly policeman standing over them looking gently disappointed. He resembled someone’s dad shaking his head, asking: ‘What have you done now, Lucy?’

Just Stop Oil were at it again yesterday when two activists walked through Heathrow Airport spraying departure boards and various bits of the terminal building.