Watch: Just Stop Oil protestors graffiti Darwin’s grave

Readers might have hoped Just Stop Oil would have left their bizarre stunts in 2024 – but sadly it wasn’t to be. This morning two eco-activists decided it would be a good idea to graffiti Charles Darwin’s grave at Westminster Abbey in protest at rising global temperatures. Er, right.

Alyson Lee and Di Bligh sprayed ‘1.5 is dead’ in bright orange paint across the memorial today. It’s reference to last week’s report that that 2024 was the first year that warming rose 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial temperatures – breaching a significant climate emergency threshold. Bligh – who is a former Reading council boss – insisted that:

Darwin once said, ‘It is not the strongest of the species, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change, that lives within the means available and works cooperatively against common threats.’ Last year was the hottest since modern humans evolved.