Two Just Stop Oil supporters who threw tomato soup over Van Gogh’s Sunflowers have been sentenced to prison terms of up to 2 years by Judge Christopher Hehir at Southwark Crown Court today. [1]
Phoebe Plummer was jailed for 2 years for the soup throwing plus 3 months for a S7 offence, while Anna Holland received a prison sentence of 20 months. They are also subject to 3 year Criminal Behaviour Orders and are expected to serve at least half of their sentences in custody.
In July, Phoebe and Anna were found guilty of causing criminal damage exceeding £5,000 after they threw tins of tomato soup over Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” painting at the National Gallery in October 2022, although the painting was protected by glass and was unharmed. Judge Hehir preemptively dismissed all legal defences—including the defence of ‘proportionality’ and their Article 10 rights under the Human Rights Act 1998—without hearing any evidence from either side. [2]
Speaking in mitigation Phoebe Plummer said:
“My choice today is to accept whatever sentences I receive with a smile, knowing that I’ve found peace in doing what I can to prevent countless millions of innocent people suffering and dying. I’ve found peace in acting on my conscience.”
“In these trials, the juries had a choice about what verdicts to give us and that’s something I remain extremely grateful for. Being tried by a jury of your peers is fundamental to our democracy and justice system. However, it may be debatable about whether the jury were allowed to make a fully free choice. In both trials and today scientific fact has been called ideology and opinion and the greatest threat to life is deemed irrelevant.”
“In Parliament Square, the beating heart of democracy in the UK, there are statues of Pankhurst, Gandhi and Mandela…why? Because these people fought for our democracy. They battled to bring about the rights we see today. And how did they do that? They broke the law to bring about justice when the society in which they were in was unjust.”
“If we meet current commitments only, net zero by 2050, perhaps some form of humanity will survive. This isn’t ideology, this is the science of the IPCC, the UN, the UK Committee on Climate Change… were calling for no more fossil fuel licences to be issued at the time these actions took place and yet the Conservative government was still storming ahead with over 100 new licences. That refusal to listen to science, reason or morality is what appears to be a dangerous and extreme ideology to me.”
“If you think that taking an authoritarian approach to sentencing today will somehow stop ordinary people standing up for justice, I believe you will be proved wrong…I think we have a choice of authoritarian rule or choosing to protect democracy, to protect life. I made my choices, and I’m happy with them. In both these actions I chose to peacefully disrupt a system which is unjust, dishonest and murderous.”
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Hehir said: “Your culpability is at level A. You did reconnaissance and planning and talked to a journalist. Your harm is at category 1, which means extreme harm to society.”
He indicated that conscience was not a mitigating factor and that “The action you took was extreme, disproportionate and criminally idiotic given the risks involved”. He continued “There is nothing peaceful or nonviolent about throwing soup. Throwing soup in someone’s face is violent.”
Addressing Phoebe he said “You think your beliefs entitle you to do anything. I was treated to a lengthy exposition to your political views. The suggestion that you and others like you in a democracy are political prisoners is ludicrous, offensive and idiotic. You have no remorse and you are proud.”
Addressing Anna he said “What you have done has had a substantial impact on your family, you’re a good student. I’ve anxiously considered all of this.”
Speaking before the sentencing Anna Holland said:
“We do not expect justice from a broken system that has been corrupted by its dependence on fossil fuels. Prison sentences, no matter how long, will not deter us. We will not stop calling for an end to all extraction and burning of fossil fuels; if Keir Starmer wants to prove that he is a better Prime Minister than the last six Tory Prime Ministers, he will hear these calls and act upon them.”
The sentences for Phoebe and Anna come despite pleas for leniency from more than 100 artists, curators and art historians. In a letter coordinated by Greenpeace UK, the environmental campaign group, and Liberate Tate, which campaigns against fossil fuel industry involvement in the arts, they said: “Art can be, and frequently is, iconoclasm. These activists should not receive custodial sentences for an act that connects entirely to the artistic canon.” [3]
At the time of sentencing, Phoebe has already spent 58 days on remand in HMP Bronzefield for a peaceful climate action at Heathrow Airport on July 30th, demanding that governments establish a fossil fuel treaty to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas, and coal by 2030. [4]
Meanwhile, Chiara Sarti and Daniel Hall, also appearing before Judge Hehir, were spared jail after being prosecuted for slow marching last year. They were sentenced to a 12 month community order, 100 hours unpaid work, a 3 year criminal behaviour order and £500 court costs. Chiara Sarti was also given a 15 day rehabilitation activity requirement for ‘lack of remorse’ and ‘allegiance to Just Stop Oil’.
Commenting on the sentences Judge Hehir described their actions as “pointless, self absorbed and self righteous law breaking”
