Just Stop Oil activists face jail for throwing soup over Vincent Van Gogh painting
The pair were released on bail until sentencing on September 27, ITV News' correspondent Geraint Vincent explains.
A pair of Just Stop Oil activists who threw soup over one of Vincent van Gogh's most famous paintings have been warned they could be jailed.
Anna Holland and Phoebe Plummer, both 22, targeted the Sunflowers painting at London's National Gallery in 2022 and "came within the width of a pane of glass of destroying one of the most valuable artworks in the world”, Judge Christopher Hehir said.
The duo were found guilty of criminal damage by a jury at Southwark Crown Court.
Holland and Plummer caused as much as £10,000 worth of damage to the artwork's frame, prosecutors said.
After the verdicts were read out, Judge Hehir – who last week jailed the co-founder of Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion for five years at the same court – told the activists that staff at the gallery had “frantically” inspected the painting for damage after the incident.
“They were worried the soup may have dripped through by condensation,” he said.
Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning
The protesters, wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts, threw two tins of Heinz tomato soup over the 1888 work in October 2022, before kneeling down in front of the painting and glueing their hands to the wall beneath it.
Plummer then said: “What is worth more, art or life? Is it worth more than food? Worth more than justice?
“Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting, or the protection of our planet and people? The cost-of-living crisis is part of the cost-of-oil crisis.”
Tomato soup covered the image, which is covered by glass, as well as parts of the gold-coloured frame.
The pair were released on bail until sentencing on September 27, with a lawyer for Holland saying they would now consider whether to appeal.
The judge warned the activists to come to court “prepared in practical and emotional terms to go to prison on that date”.
The offence of criminal damage can be punished with a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.
The world-famous Sunflowers painting was the second from the National Gallery to be selected as a target for protest action by Just Stop Oil in 2022, with two supporters glueing themselves to John Constable’s The Hay Wain in July of that year.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...