Wimbledon: three Just Stop Oil protesters charged by police after allegedly scattering confetti on court

Three protesters have been charged by police, after play was twice suspended on Court 18 at Wimbledon this week while protestors purportedly from Just Stop Oil ran on to the grass and scattered orange confetti.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed on Friday (7 July) that Deborah Wilde, 68, Simon Milner-Edwards, 66, and William Ward, 66, had been charged with aggravated trespass over Just Stop Oil protests which disrupted the Wimbledon tennis championships.

On Wednesday evening, a man entered the court during British number one Katie Boulter’s match with Daria Saville and threw orange confetti and jigsaw pieces just hours after a similar incident. Both players helped clear the court after the protester was escorted away.

In a statement, Just Stop Oil took credit for interrupting matches between Sho Shimabukuro and Grigor Dimitrov in the tennis championships just after 2pm Wednesday (5 June), saying activists were demanding that the UK government halted all new licences and consents for oil, gas and coal.

The first pair of alleged activists, named by the campaign group as Deborah Wilde, 68, a retired teacher from London, and Simon Milner-Edwards, 66, a retired musician from Manchester, allegedly scattered "environmentally-friendly" orange confetti glitter and jigsaw pieces onto the courts, before being removed.

The man allegedly involved in the second protest was named as William John Ward, 66, a retired civil engineer from Epsom.

The earlier game was briefly halted whilst marshals picked up the pieces. A pair in Just Stop Oil shirts could then be seen being escorted away by police officers.

A statement on the tournament's official Twitter account said: "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."

The Metropolitan Police confirmed that a man and a woman were now in custody after the incident. After the second incident, the force posted: “We are aware of an incident on Court 18 whereby one male has unlawfully entered the field of play and discharged items onto the playing surface.

“He was immediately removed from the Grounds and arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage," they added.

In Just Stop Oil's statement, Mr Milner-Edwards 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," he continued. "But right now, on Centre Court, it’s humanity [versus] oil and gas - and the umpire is getting every call wrong."

Just Stop Oil criticised the Wimbledon championships for its sponsorship deal with Barclays Bank, which it said gave £30 billion to oil and gas companies - including Exxon Mobil, Shell and TotalEnergies - in the last two years.

This comes just one week after two Just Stop Oil protestors ran onto the field during the second test of the Ashes cricket series before the second over, throwing orange paint onto the hallowed Lord's turf before being shepherded off. One protestor was carried off the pitch by England star Jonny Bairstow.

Other recent targets for the anti-fossil fuel group's infamous paint attacks include the London Pride Parade, the Gallagher Premiership final, and a garden at the Chelsea Flower Show.

Wimbledon's tournament organisers have already faced scheduling headaches, with at least an hour and a half lost due to rain on Wednesday.

All play on the outside courts was washed out just after midday on Tuesday, which led to 87 matches being scheduled on day three in a bid to clear the backlog.