London Pride 2023: Five Just Stop Oil protesters charged after blocking Coca-Cola float

Five of the Just Stop Oil protesters arrested at yesterday’s (July 1) London Pride event have been charged.

Seven protesters were arrested in total for disrupting the Pride march at Down Street, Piccadilly.

A group of Just Stop Oil demonstrators sat in front of the Coca-Cola float, preventing it from moving for around 20 minutes.

Of the seven arrested, five have now been charged with behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

They are: Ben Plumpton, 68, of Underbank Ave, Calderdale; Zosia Lewis, 22, of Melbourne Street, Newcastle; Oliver Clegg, 20, of Olney Street, Manchester; Goose Bootsma, 25, of no fixed address; and Callum Goode, 23, Ashbourne, Derbyshire.

They have been bailed to attend Westminster Magistrates’ Court on August 4.

Two further males, aged 19 and 22, were released on bail pending further enquiries.

Prior to the event, LGBTQ+ Just Stop Oil members called on Pride to stop accepting sponsorship money from “high polluting industries” and allowing floats in the parade from such organisations.

James Skeet, a Just Stop Oil spokesperson, said: “These partnerships embarrass the LGBTQ+ community, at a time when much of the cultural world is rejecting ties to these toxic industries. We call on Pride to remember the spirit in which it was founded and to respect the memory of all those who fought and died to secure the rights we now possess, whilst taking the necessary steps to protect our community long into the future.”

Will De’Athe-Morris, from Pride in London, told the BBC: "Pride is a protest and pride is a celebration. We are protesting for LGBTQ+ rights and for our trans siblings in a separate march alone.

“So for us anyone who tries to disrupt that protest and parade is really letting down those people who use this space once a year to come together to celebrate and protest for those rights.”

Starting at Hyde Park Corner, the parade moved towards Piccadilly, before heading south to Haymarket and Trafalgar Square, finishing at Whitehall Place.

Around 600 groups joined, with 30,000 people registered.