Just Stop Oil protesters throw paint over influential fossil fuel lobbying HQ

Protest at 55 Tufton Street comes amid increased scrutiny of think tanks and other groups at the address influencing government policy

Just Stop Oil protesters have sprayed orange paint over the front of 55 Tufton Street in London, an address which is home to the Global Warming Policy Foundation – a climate denial group – and other fossil fuel lobby groups and right-wing think tanks.

The protest has reportedly blocked Horseferry Road in Westminster, as activists stopped traffic by sitting in the road and unfurling banners.

Some of the protesters glued themselves to the tarmac, while others locked themselves together.

The group is demanding that the government halts all new oil and gas licences and consents.

A spokesperson for Just Stop Oil said: "We’re on the streets of London because politics is broken. It was broken here in Tufton Street by shady, opaquely funded lobbyists who now stalk the corridors of power, thanks to Liz Truss. Their bankrupt ideas have brought the economy to its knees but it’s much worse than that.

“Decades of climate denial and delay, which they promoted, mean that we now face an existential crisis. We face the prospect of climate collapse. This will bring drought, heatwaves and crop failures, civil unrest and political insecurity. No one is safe.”

It comes after 55 Tufton Street was also targeted for direct action by protest group Led By Donkeys last week.

The address has risen to notoriety due to claims that numerous organisations based there are having an increasing influence on government policy.

In particular, Liz Truss and many of those who championed her are known to have connections to the lobby groups and think tanks based at 55 Tufton Street, which include the TaxPayers’ Alliance, the Global Warming Policy Foundation, the Adam Smith Institute and the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).

A number of 55 Tufton Street’s alumni have been appointed over the years as Downing Street advisers.

Over the weekend, Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner tweeted: “The toxic Tufton Street fantasists behind Trussonomics have an extreme agenda and unaccountable influence – but they refuse to disclose their donors.

“Labour will review the lobbying rules to ensure transparency on who funds these so-called ‘think tanks’.”

In a statement today, Just Stop Oil said it would continue its campaign which has seen numerous institutions targeted, as the group "peacefully resist the government’s plans to licence over 100 new oil and gas projects by 2025, and its failure to fulfil its promise to help people with their skyrocketing energy bills".

They said these were "policy failures that will force millions into poverty and facing a choice between heating, eating, or providing the basic essentials for themselves and their families".

The action in Westminster this morning comes after three weeks of continuous civil resistance by supporters of Just Stop Oil during which the police have made 576 arrests.

The group said that since their current campaign began on 1 April, Just Stop Oil supporters have been arrested 1,880 times, with seven activists currently in prison.

The Institute of Economic Affairs’ chief operating officer and energy analyst Andy Mayer told The Independent: “Just Stop Oil appear to be entitled narcissists engaged in petty acts of vandalism, all in the name of a campaign that if successful would only worsen the current energy crisis.

"We are still 75 per cent dependent on fossil fuels. If we stopped their use, 85 per cent of households would have no heat in winter, or only 60 per cent of the time if switched to electric heat pumps. 97 per cent could not drive, and would have nowhere to go as most industry, shopping and government services would shut down.

He added: "The right to protest is important. This isn’t that. It’s just criminal behaviour by delusional fanatics. Arrest them, fine them and make them clean up the mess. If they repeat it, jail them.”

The Independent has contacted other organisations in Tufton Street for comment.