Just Stop Oil: Pair guilty of damaging Van Gogh painting's frame

Two Just Stop Oil protesters have been found guilty of causing criminal damage to a Vincent Van Gogh painting's frame after gluing themselves to it.

Louis McKechnie, 22, and Emily Brocklebank, 23, caused about £2,000 of damage to the frame of Peach Trees In Blossom at London's Courtauld Gallery.

McKechnie was jailed for three weeks while Brocklebank received a suspended sentence.

She had said: "I didn't think I would cause much damage. Glue comes off."

There have been several similar protests by climate activists in recent weeks.

District Judge Neeta Minhas said the damage caused was "substantial".

Giving her verdict at Westminster Magistrates' Court, she said: "An 18th Century frame which is hundreds of years old has been permanently damaged. It is not in a state where it can return to its original state."

She told the court that the painting had "significant, historical and art value" and the damage caused to its frame was "not minor, insignificant, temporary or trivial".

Addressing the defendants, District Judge Minhas said: "I find you both guilty of criminal damage, having no lawful excuse to cause damage but you did so on a reckless basis."

McKechnie, from Weymouth in Dorset, has been to prison for a number of previous offences including breaching an injunction designed to prevent road blockades, and for aggravated trespass after he tied himself to a goalpost at a Premier League football match.

The court heard how Brocklebank and McKechnie glued themselves to the painting at the gallery on the Strand on 30 June.

Defending the pair, solicitor Francesca Cociani asked one of the gallery's curators, Karen Serres, whether the artwork had increased in value "because of the protest it was subject to by the defendants".

She asked: "Say the [Courtauld] Institute was to sell it on in 20 to 30 years, is it possible its value would now increase?"

Ms Serres replied "absolutely not", and said she believed the painting could not be sold.

When McKechnie gave evidence, he compared his actions to those of civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King.

He said: "In 1960, Martin Luther King was the most hated man in America. The civil rights movement still worked."

Defending her actions, Brocklebank told the court: "Any good human would agree with trying to sustain life on Earth."

The student, from Yeadon in Leeds, received a 21-day sentence, suspended for six months, and was made the subject of an electronically monitored six-week curfew.

Another activist, Xavier Gonzales-Trimmer, 21, originally faced the same charge after being accused of "distracting the guards", but this was dropped. However, he was fined for failing to appear at court for an earlier hearing.

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