Swarms of attention-seeking activists with nothing to contribute to the world except grandstanding, vandalism, and inconvenience are back to their usual tricks.

With the whole of London on edge, terrified that pro-Hamas rallies will damage the Cenotaph during their promised million-strong hate march on Armistice Day, Just Stop Oil thought yep, let’s congregate near the Cenotaph when everyone’s emotions are high.

It’s not only madness, it’s extremely selfish behaviour.

Just Stop Oil released a statement insisting the whole Cenotaph thing was just a coincidence.

‘The slow march was moving down Whitehall when it was stopped by a line of police near the Cenotaph. Our supporters are refusing to cooperate with the police and many of them lay down on the ground. It was pure coincidence that this happened to be near the Cenotaph.’

Pure coincidence, except for the bit where they decided to march toward the Cenotaph and lay down in front of it. Neither of those things had to happen. They could have given their tedious activism a break for a week.

In the process of being disrespectful and annoying, Just Stop Oil brought the area to a standstill. Police were more zealous in their arresting of eco-warriors than they were of jihadists, cuffing at least 40 and taking them away.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the Metropolitan Police could show the same courage arresting people shouting genocide instead of (mostly harmless) greenies…

But then, the Met only show strength toward the weak.

‘It was for their own safety – obviously, it’s quite a busy road,’ said one officer. No one disagrees, but they are trying to figure out why policing is so lopsided. They brought the counter-terror units out for Freedom marches, beat the heck out of citizens protecting statues from aggressive Black Lives Matter activists and … mostly monitor the people calling for genocide. Seems about right?

Regardless of how innocent the Just Stop Oil spokesperson claims this incident to be, there have been many many occasions upon which Just Stop Oil has caused actual property damage or come close to destroying a work of priceless historical value – be it art or a fountain.

Over the weekend, two of their group allegedly smashed glass covering a painting at the London National Gallery. Was that a coincidence with a hammer?

‘Women did not get the vote by voting!’ they shouted. ‘It is time for deeds, not words. It is time to Just Stop Oil! Millions will die due to new oil and gas licencing. Millions! If we love history, if we love art, and if we love our families, we must Just Stop Oil!’

They seem to be unaware that modern medicine is 90 per cent dependent on oil so Just Stopping Oil! will result in the death and suffering of billions, but never mind.

The pair were arrested for criminal damage.

I say they are the locusts of politics, swarming over anything to feed on the attention and multiply, but perhaps they are passive moths – flying into the flames of the nearest cultural fire – contributing nothing except a flicker in the headline.

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Flat White is written and edited by Alexandra Marshall.

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