Wimbledon’s store has withdrawn jigsaw puzzles from sale, after Just Stop Oil protestors used them to disrupt play on Wednesday (5 July).
Play was halted twice on Court 18, first during Grigor Dimitrov’s victory over Sho Shimabukuro, then during Katie Boulter’s win against Daria Saville. In the first instance, a man and woman stormed the court to throw jigsaw-puzzle pieces and confetti, and in the latter case, a man threw confetti. All wore Just Stop Oil T-shirts, and all were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage.
The All England Club has since increased its security and taken jigsaw puzzles off sale at the club store.
Simon Milner-Edwards, 66, was part of the first court invasion, and the retired musician from Manchester said: “I’m not prepared to let our politicians wreck everything and leave the next generation to pick up the pieces.
“The last thing I want to do is spoil people’s enjoyment of Wimbledon, but right now on Centre Court, it’s humanity versus oil and gas – and the umpire is getting every call wrong.”
Earlier, activists in the Harrods department store in Knightsbridge held placards on an escalator, before security guards bundled a photographer out of the building, Just Stop Oil said. Furthermore, several slow marches were held in central London, including in Hammersmith, Victoria, Westminster, Kensington, Tower Bridge and Parliament Square.
The protests happened as home secretary Suella Braverman and culture secretary Lucy Frazer held talks with police and sports chiefs on how to prevent Just Stop Oil activists targeting flagship events.
Ms Frazer said it was “really disappointing to see yet more disruption of our world-class sporting events”, following a protest at the men’s Ashes last month. She said she would continue to work with the Home Office and sporting bodies “to ensure this small minority do not ruin our summer of sport”.
