Harrods’ Knightsbridge store was the latest target for the environmental organization Just Stop Oil.
One entrance and a few adjacent windows were spray-painted orange on Thursday morning and about 20 people staged a sit-down protest on the road in front of the luxury store.
A member of the group said in a video posted on Twitter that the owner of Harrods, which is the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund the Qatar Investment Authority, “also has shares in oil and gas companies. These fossil fuels are fueling the climate crisis.” He was later dragged into the store by security guards from the luxury department store.
The storefront was later cleaned after the police removed all activists from the premise. In footage circulating online, members of the public can be seen helping to drag protesters off the street.
🚨 BREAKING: HARRODS SPRAY PAINTED AND KNIGHTSBRIDGE BLOCKED 🚨
🎨 At 9am today, 20 Just Stop Oil supporters stopped traffic on Knightsbridge in central London, demanding an end to new oil and gas. Two have also sprayed the outside of Harrods department store with orange paint. pic.twitter.com/zi0eeaoPu1
— Just Stop Oil ⚖️💀🛢 (@JustStop_Oil) October 20, 2022
The eco group has targeted several high-profile city landmarks and busy roads such as the Dartford Crossing to express its demand that “the government halts all new oil and gas licenses and consents.”
On Sunday, two Just Stop Oil activists made global headlines by splashing tomato soup over Van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting in National Gallery and gluing themselves to the wall after. The painting was unharmed as it was covered by a glass protective case, but the frame was said to be damaged.
The Aston Martin showroom in London’s Park Lane was also painted over on Sunday by the eco group, and a similar sit-down protest was staged on the road outside as well.
The Metropolitan Police has made over 500 arrests so far this month as Just Stop Oil memebers carry out its “civil resistance’ throughout October.
WWD has reached out to Harrods for comment.
