Just Stop Oil activists found guilty of criminal damage of Van Gogh painting

Two Just Stop Oil protesters have been found guilty of causing criminal damage to a Vincent Van Gogh painting’s frame after gluing themselves to it.

Louis McKechnie, 22, and Emily Brocklebank, 23, caused about £2,000 of damage to the frame of Peach Trees In Blossom at London’s Courtauld Gallery.

McKechnie was jailed for three weeks while Brocklebank received a suspended sentence at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

She had said: “I didn’t think I would cause much damage. Glue comes off.”

There have been several similar protests by climate activists in recent weeks.

District Judge Neeta Minhas said the damage caused at the gallery was “substantial”.

Giving her verdict, she said: “An 18th Century frame which is hundreds of years old has been permanently damaged.

“It is not in a state where it can return to its original state.”

She told the court that the painting had “significant, historical and art value” and the damage caused to its frame was “not minor, insignificant, temporary or trivial”.

Addressing the defendants, District Judge Minhas said: “I find you both guilty of criminal damage, having no lawful excuse to cause damage but you did so on a reckless basis.”

Jonathan Bryan, prosecuting, had told the court the activists used super glue to attach themselves to Van Gogh’s 1889 work Peach Trees In Blossom at the Courtauld Gallery, on the Strand, on June 30.