‘A bit of a Swiss army knife’: the leadership duo aiming to help Greenpeace UK cut through

Areeba Hamid and Will McCallum, the co-directors of Greenpeace UK, at the organisation’s HQ in Islington, London. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

On 24 July 2020, radical climate activists walked up to Greenpeace UK’s elegant 1930s HQ in the heart of Islington and smeared it with pink paint. “What have you done?” they demanded in furious letters stuck to the NGOs glass front door. “It’s time for you to step up or get out of the way.”

Early last month, as members of the Burning Pink campaign stood trial accused of criminal damage for that and a string of other attacks on NGOs, political parties and newspapers – including the Guardian – they called a surprise witness for the defence. It was Will McCallum, the new co-executive director of Greenpeace UK.