Katie Boulter said she was “shocked” after a Just Stop Oil protester disrupted her first-round match at Wimbledon by throwing jigsaw pieces and orange-coloured confetti on to court.
The British No 1 said she was not sure if it was “the right place or time” for such action after protesters disrupted two matches on the same court on Wednesday in another attempt to draw attention to the climate crisis.
William John Ward, 66, threw himself over his front row seat at Court 18 before scattering a 1,000-piece Wimbledon-branded puzzle and environmentally friendly orange confetti glitter on to the grass at 4.30pm.
The retired civil engineer was chased by two security guards as he continued to scatter the confetti and remove his jacket to expose his Just Stop Oil T-shirt. He was dragged off court as Boulter, 26, helped clear up the mess with vacuum cleaners and leaf blowers. After a 10-minute delay, the Leicester-born player went on to claim a 7-6 (4) 6-2 victory over Australian Daria Saville.
Two hours earlier, Deborah Wilde, a retired teacher from London, and Simon Milner-Edwards, a retired musician from Manchester, disrupted a match between Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov and Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro with the same puzzle stunt.
After his victory, Dimitrov, 32, told reporters the protest was “not pleasant” and that his instinct was to remove the protesters. “My first reaction was initially to go also, but then I also realised that’s not my place to do that,” he said.
All three protesters were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage before being escorted off SW19.
Spectators could be heard booing and shouting “losers” and “are you happy with yourselves” as Wilde and Milner-Edwards were led away in handcuffs.
Milner-Edwards said he felt “absolutely fine” about being arrested, saying: “I would run in front of a car to save my grandchildren.”
The 66-year-old, who has been arrested previously, said: “Our politicians are the criminals, they’re destroying everything. In 10 years’ time Wimbledon will not resemble anything like this.
“New fossil fuels are a stain on this country and I’m not going to allow my grandchildren to have to pick up the pieces.”
The protesters managed to evade Wimbledon’s newly beefed-up security. Undercover specialist police officers have been positioned in key spots this year as organisers attempt to thwart environmental protesters. Staff have also been checking every bag and carrying out body searches, which has caused delays.
Chalk dust and other powders have been banned for the first time in an attempt to stop Just Stop Oil protesters. Cable ties, glue, chains and padlocks are also among 19 items on the prohibited list.
As Wilde, 68, was led away, she confirmed that the pair had joined the queue this morning. It is believed that the pair joined the line at 6am but it is unclear if they brought the centenary edition of the puzzle featuring Roger Federer with them.
Wilde said in a statement: “I’m just an ordinary grandmother in resistance to this government’s policy of serving us new oil and gas licences. In normal circumstances this sort of disruption would be entirely unacceptable, but these aren’t normal circumstances.”
Ward added: “I have no choice but to get the message out in whatever way I can. I’m retired and want to enjoy my retirement, but I feel I have no choice but to take action. I’ve tried everything else.”
Home secretary Suella Braverman condemned the activists on Wednesday, the same day she chaired a meeting on protests at sporting events with police and sports bodies.
She said: “This is unacceptable. We will be uncompromisingly tough on the selfish protesters intent on spoiling our world-class sporting occasions this summer.”
A Met police spokesperson said: “At around 14:08, a male and female member of Just Stop Oil ran onto Court 18 during a match and discharged what is believed to be orange paper petals and jigsaw pieces. Both were detained by Wimbledon security before being arrested by Met officers on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage.
“At around 16:30, a male member of Just Stop Oil ran onto the same court during a match and also discharged what is believed to be orange paper petals and jigsaw pieces. He too was detained by security before being arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage.
“All remain in police custody.”
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