Emma Thompson backs Just Stop Oil as 60,000 people join restore nature London march

Dame Emma Thompson, prominent for a number of movies such as Sense and Sensibility (1995), Cruella (2021) and Love Actually (2003), has backed the activities of Just Stop Oil, as she took part in a London march on June 22 to persuade politicians to priorities nature.

Thompson, besides naturalist and nature photographer Chris Packham and actors Miranda Richardson and Iwan Rheon, joined an estimated 60,000 people who marched in London to demand greater political action to tackle a serious “nature and climate crisis”.

Asked if she supports Just Stop Oil, Thompson said: “I think I support anyone who fights this extraordinary battle.” Members of the environmental group have made headlines for spraying orange paint on the Stonehenge monument and a handful of private jets in a London airport.

Just Stop Oil paints Stonehenge, private jets orange

Naturalist Packham said of Just Stop Oil: “I do stand behind them because otherwise we wouldn’t be having this conversation … If we are not having this conversation, then we are not educating the public, we are not putting pressure on our politicians to reform policies.”

“Let’s face it, if the politicians were listening to Just Stop Oil and taking on board the valid things that they have to say, because they are only a conduit between the science and the politics, basically, then they would be out of business,” the BBC presenter added.

Just Stop Oil is one of several environmental groups across Europe that have been receiving substantial attention – and criticism – for disrupting major sporting events, interrupting traffic and splashing paint and food on prominent art pieces to lure attention to climate change.

Restore nature London march ahead of UK general election

The massive London protest on Saturday was potentially the biggest gathering of people for nature and climate action that the UK has ever seen. The march represented a celebration of the UK’s nature and a protest calling for urgent climate action.

It came ahead of the July 4 UK general election, demanding that the next British government does not “recklessly” ignore the nature crisis. More than 350 charities, businesses and direct action groups joined the event, besides renewable energy tycoon Dale Vince.

Chris Packham called the London march the first time organisations across the entire spectrum of campaigning and conservation have united, from the National Trust to Just Stop Oil. Reflecting on the long campaign, Dame Emma Thompson described it as “extraordinary”.