Mystery as JSO reveal woman who disrupted George Osborne’s wedding day is NOT part of the group: So just who showered the ex-chancellor and his bride with orange confetti?
- Woman dressed as if she was attending wedding tipped the confetti on couple
- Orange confetti is similar to that used by Just Stop Oil at Wimbledon this week
- Do you know the mystery woman? Email [email protected]
Just Stop Oil has revealed that the woman who disrupted George Osborne’s wedding day by showering him and his new bridge with orange confetti is not part of their group.
The former chancellor, 52, married Thea Rogers, 40, at a ceremony in Somerset yesterday afternoon, in front of a host of Tory bigwigs including David and Samantha Cameron.
There was a moment of confusion after the ceremony when a woman, dressed as if she was attending the wedding, tipped bright orange confetti similar to that seen at Wimbledon this week over the couple as they left the churchyard.
Just Stop Oil, which aims to pressure the Government into abandoning fossil fuels, has recently targeted The Ashes and Wimbledon alongside its six-week campaign of destruction through slow marches in London.
But a mystery has now unravelled after Just Stop Oil’s spokesman James Skeet confirmed the protester at Mr Osborne’s wedding was not a member of the group, despite the eco-zealots tweeting that he ‘looked good in orange’ after.
They also said he ‘carries a heavy responsibility for the inability of successive Government to address the climate crisis’.
Just Stop Oil has revealed that the woman who disrupted George Osborne’s wedding day by showering him and his new bridge with orange confetti (pictured) is not part of their group
The former chancellor married Thea Rogers at a ceremony in Bruton, Somerset, yesterday afternoon
The couple looked behind them in some confusion as the confetti was thrown as they left the church
Mr Skeet said today: ‘Unfortunately, we can’t claim credit for the orange confetti on this one, but we wish the happy couple well.
He added: ‘I neither condemn nor praise it. I don’t know who that lady is.’
When quizzed on whether the group welcomed outside protesters taking similar action to Just Stop Oil, the spokesman said: ‘As a policy, Just Stop Oil is always accountable for our actions. You will know it is us because we will admit to it.
‘The fact that we were vague last night implies that it wasn’t really us.
‘If orange confetti is the symbol of the revolution then so be it, but obviously you can always guarantee that we will be accountable for any actions that we undertake.’
The protest came while the cream of the Conservative party descended on the sleepy Somerset town of Bruton, dubbed the ‘Notting Hill of the West’, to watch Ms Rogers and Mr Osborne tie the knot in front of around 200 guests.
Footage from outside the church showed the mystery woman, who was wearing a floral dress and a suit jacket, approach the couple as they were escorted by a security guard towards a waiting vehicle.
She took a handful of orange confetti from a paper bag with a Union Jack printed on it and threw it over the backs of the newlyweds, before tipping the remnants over Mr Osborne’s head and jacket.
Just Stop Oil, who have since claimed they were not behind the latest protest, tweeted that George Osborne looked ‘good in orange’
The confetti was very similar to that released by activists on Centre Court at Wimbledon this week
Just Stop Oil has also targeted other events, such as The Ashes at Lord’s, with orange powder
England’s Jonny Bairstow removes a Just Stop Oil protester from the pitch during day one of the second Ashes test match at Lord’s
The confetti was very similar to that released by activists on Centre Court at Wimbledon on Wednesday – although those Just Stop Oil protesters wore t-shirts revealing their affiliation to the group.
The couple looked behind them, appearing puzzled, but the woman did not appear to speak to them.
Their security guard then held out an arm to keep the woman at a distance from the couple.
Under the impression that Just Stop Oil had targeted yet another high-profile event, Labour’s Rachel Reeves described the group’s tactics as ‘pathetic’.
Shadow chancellor Ms Reeves told the Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme on Sky News: ‘I have got no time for Just Stop Oil.
‘To be honest, I think it is a bit pathetic and quite tedious disrupting tennis, snooker, other people’s weddings.
‘If they want to tackle climate change, engage in the policy answers, but they are not building support for their cause, they are doing the exact opposite.
‘So it is counter-productive and it is rude frankly.
‘People paid to go to Wimbledon, it may be the one time in their life that they get to Wimbledon, they don’t want to be disrupted by a load of protesters.’
Former chancellor George Osborne with his wife and former adviser, Thea Rogers, outside St Mary’s Church
The wedding of former Chancellor George Osborne to Thea Rogers at St Mary’s Church in Bruton, Somerset
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove was pictured outside the 14th Century St Mary’s Church
David Cameron and his wife Samantha were among those to descend on the sleepy Somerset town of Bruton
Among the guests attending Mr Osborne’s wedding were former prime minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha, former chancellor Sajid Javid and Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove.
While Just Stop Oil said it was not responsible for the demonstration, the group welcomed it on Twitter, sharing a video of the incident and claiming the ex-chancellor looked ‘good in orange’.
A spokesperson for the organisation added: ‘As a Conservative politician and prominent news editor, George Osborne carries a heavy responsibility for the inability of successive Government to address the climate crisis.
‘Unless fossil fuel licenses are halted immediately, we’re all going to pay a heavy cost for the failings of men like Osborne.’
Treasury minister Victoria Atkins also condemned the interruption to Mr Osborne’s wedding.
The minister told Sky News: ‘This is a couple, clearly in love, on their wedding day and somebody has apparently taken the opportunity to throw some orange dust around.’
She added: ‘I don’t understand why an organisation would want to stop other people from having fun and enjoyment.
‘They achieve nothing other than making people feel upset when they are missing out on the sporting event that they have been looking forward to for a very long time, or indeed their own wedding.’
The SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, meanwhile, said he was ‘a little bit troubled by some of their practices’, adding: ‘I don’t see how it carries public support.’
However, he said some of the outrage about Just Stop Oil was ‘a little bit far-fetched’.
The Aberdeen South MP said: ‘I mean, the confetti yesterday – was anyone hurt in that regard? And when you juxtapose that with the storms in Zaragoza in Spain, I think we can see which one has caused the most damage here.’
He added: ‘It is very unfortunate and I would probably be a little bit upset about it as well, but I would probably take four steps and take the confetti off me.’
William Hague and wife Ffion arrive at St Mary’s Church in Brunton, Somerset, for the wedding of former chancellor George Osborne and his former adviser Thea Rogers
JSO have ramped up their protests at major sporting events in recent weeks, and there are fears they could disrupt the Silverstone Grand Prix tomorrow.
Northamptonshire Police will use live facial recognition at the British Grand Prix amid a raft of measures aimed at stopping protesters from disrupting the race, which is expected to have an audience of 150,000 fans.
Play had to be paused at Wimbledon on two separate occasions as the protesters were removed from the ground and the jigsaw pieces were cleaned up.
And last week three other protesters ran onto the cricket pitch at Lord’s during the Ashes test series against Australia, prompting England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow to take matters into his hands and haul one of them off.
Mr Osborne and Ms Rogers announced their engagement in April 2021, with the former Cabinet minister saying at the time: ‘I have probably never been happier in my life.’
Sajid Javid arrives at the church in Somerset with his wife, sporting a well-shaven beard
The couple welcomed their first child, a son named Beau, in July of the same year, before their second son, Arthur, was born on December 30 last year.
Mr Osborne also has two older children, Luke and Liberty, from his first marriage to author Frances Howell, who he divorced in 2019 after 21 years of marriage.
Ms Rogers, who recently said she would be stepping back from her executive role at food delivery firm Deliveroo, worked together with Osborne as she joined the Treasury from the BBC, initially working as a special adviser before being promoted to become his chief of staff in 2015.
She was tasked with reinventing the minister’s image, including ‘metrosexualising’ him by putting him on the 5:2 diet, which encourages fasting for two days and eating normally for five.
Since leaving No11, Osborne has held a number of jobs, including as a partner at boutique City investment bank, Robey Warshaw, which has propelled him into the upper ranks of the City.
A key lieutenant in Cameron’s Conservative government, Osborne is also chairman at the British Museum and of the ‘partners council’ which oversees Exor, the holding company of the Italian billionaire Agnelli family.
He was editor of the Evening Standard between 2017 and 2020, and is a director of his father’s wallpaper company Osborne & Little.
Mr Osborne is also believed to have worked on the sale of Chelsea Football Club, of whom he is a fan, to American tycoon Todd Boehly.
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