George Osborne and his new wife Thea Rogers were covered in orange confetti by a woman as they emerged from their wedding ceremony on Saturday.
Around 200 people, including a string of well-known politicians and journalists, had attended the wedding of the former chancellor of the Exchequer, 52, and his former aide, 40-year-old Thea Rogers at the 14th Century St Mary’s Church in the Somerset village of Bruton.
In a tongue in cheek comment, Just Stop Oil tweeted: “You look good in orange @George_Osborne — congratulations to the newlyweds.”
Orange confetti thrown over George Osborne as he left St Mary's Church in Bruton following his wedding to his former adviser Thea Rogers - via @PA pic.twitter.com/FBeviqB1YN
— Jamie Lashmar (@jamie_lashmar) July 8, 2023
On Sunday, James Skeet, a spokesperson for Just Stop Oil told LBC that the group was not behind the stunt.
“Just Stop Oil did not disrupt George Osbourne’s wedding,” Mr Skeet said. “There’s a video of a woman throwing orange confetti at a wedding, but she’s not one of ours, I’m afraid.”
After the smiling couple, who have two children together, emerged from the church as the bells rang, a smartly dressed woman showered them with orange confetti from a Union flag paper bag.
Mr Osborne looked behind him as she approached the couple before throwing the confetti over the groom.
The grey-haired woman, in a floral dress and pale coloured jacket, emptied the bag of confetti near the couple before she left after being spoken to by two men.
The couple looked puzzled, but did not appear to speak to the woman, who fled when approached by and journalists.
The activist’s tweet was condemned by former home secretary Priti Patel, who accused Just Stop Oil of being “shameful, attention seeking, disrespectful low life”.
Among the guests attending the service were former prime minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha, former chancellor Sajid Javid and Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove.
Also present were Lord Hague and his wife Ffion, former health secretary Matt Hancock, ex-governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney, and Labour heavyweight Ed Balls with his wife Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary.
As well as politicians there were a host of well-known journalists.
They included Today Programme host Nick Robinson, former Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis, ex-BBC correspondent Jon Sopel, former Sky News political editor Adam Boulton with his wife Anji Hunter, an adviser in Downing Street under Sir Tony Blair, and Mariella Frostrup.
Mr Osborne was not seen arriving at the church ahead of the service, but Ms Rogers walked through the churchyard to claps from well-wishers.
The service, which lasted nearly an hour, included music from Beethoven’s Ode To Joy and Hubert Parry’s Jerusalem.
After quitting the House of Commons, Mr Osborne became editor of the Evening Standard newspaper.
The town of Bruton has been dubbed “the Notting Hill of the West” due to the number of celebrities living there.
