Just Stop Oil vandalise Charles Darwin's grave inside Westminster Abbey as tombstone defaced

This came after news on Friday revealed that the world exceeded the “safe” 1.5C warming limit agreed by world leaders in Paris in 2015.

The supporters were heard saying: “2024 was the hottest year on record. We have passed the 1.5-degree threshold that was supposed to keep us safe. Millions are being displaced, California is on fire and we have lost three-quarters of all wildlife since the 1970’s.”

They claimed Darwin would be turning in his grave, knowing the world was in the “midst of the sixth mass extinction,” adding “the Government’s plans will take us to over 3 degrees of warming. This will destroy everything we love. World leaders must stop burning oil, gas and coal by 2030”.

One of the protesters said: “Ten years on from the Paris Agreement, we have already exceeded the so-called safe temperature rise of 1.5 degrees, and are heading for over 3 degrees of warming.”

She added: “This rapidly accelerating crisis means huge parts of the world will become unable to support life, resulting in millions of refugees, social collapse and extinction for countless species.”

She hit out at world leaders, saying their words were useless unless real action was taken.

Urging people to join in the fight, she said: “We need mass civil disobedience now, join us on the streets and help us reclaim parliament this April.”

The other campaigner quoted Darwin, saying: “Darwin once said- ‘It is not the strongest of the species, nor the most intelligent that survives.

“It is the one that is the most adaptable to change, that lives within the means available and works cooperatively against common threats.”

She added that last year was the hottest since the modern evolution of humans, imploring people to work together to “reign in the corporations and billionaires driving us beyond our means”.

“Humanity will not be able to adapt to what is coming. We are on course to lose everything, and politicians are doing nowhere near enough to prevent it. How many will we have to bury as a result of climate breakdown and who will be left to mourn them?”

Westminster Police released a statement saying that the two women were arrested after the action. The force wrote on X: “Two women have been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage at Westminster Abbey.

“Police were called at 10am to reports that the woman had been detained by security. They have been taken to a central London police station.”

Last year, five Just Stop Oil campaigners received lengthy prison sentences for disrupting the M25 motorway for four days in 2022.

Their protest reportedly cost the Met Police over £1.1million, delaying over 700,000 vehicles, including those attending hospital appointments and funerals.