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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Fraser Watson

Silverstone call in 100 army soldiers to deal with Just Stop Oil protests at British GP

Silverstone bosses are leaving nothing to chance as they bid to prevent Just Stop Oil protests from marring the British Grand Prix.

The military will be on hand to deal with any activists, amid fears there will be a repeat of the scenes which marred the race in 2021. Following an opening lap incident involving Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu, five spectators made their way onto the track, and were later arrested and found guilty of risking "serious harm" to F1 drivers.

But that hasn't deterred the group from seeking publicity at further high profile sporting events. The World Snooker Championship was tainted by a protestor evading security and pouring powder on one of the table cloths, and the recent Ashes Test at Lord's saw players act to prevent members reaching the wicket.

And this week at Wimbledon, play has been disrupted by further action from Just Stop Oil, with F1 chiefs now fearing some form of stunt this weekend is inevitable. Therefore, the army have been called in to try and stamp out any chaos.

Friday's two practice sessions passed without incident, with around 500,000 spectators expected to have come through the gates by Sunday evening. And according to Mail Sport, there will now be 100 soldiers on hand at the track, stationed at various places to halt any potential invasions.

Security is also being ramped up, with extensive bag searches for spectators and facial recognition being used to try and identify potential culprits. Northamptonshire Police will also line the eight miles of Silverstone’s fencing, to stamp put the prospect of individuals scaling them to enter illegally.

HAVE YOUR SAY! Have Just Stop Oil gone too far? Comment below.

Protesters from Just Stop Oil are dragged away from the track in 2022 (Licensed by Story Picture Agency/REX/Shutterstock)

The provisions are the culmination of long term planning by the police, British Grand Prix organisers, Formula One Group and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Despite widespread condemnation of the methods used, Just Stop Oil members have frequently doubled down on their behaviour.

Speaking outside Downing Street on Thursday, Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali had a stern warning for those planning any form of protest: "We are not here to dispute opinion on things - but (dispute) things that are getting dangerous," said Domenicalli.

"And destroying an event that 100,000 people come to I think is totally wrong. There are ways of doing what you want to do but this is totally unacceptable and I hope that people understand that there is not the space to find the right place."

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