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ust Stop Oil’s attempts to disrupt major sporting events are “a bit pathetic”, Rachel Reeves has said.
The shadow chancellor claimed she has “got no time” for the protest group’s tactics, following demonstrations at Wimbledon and the Ashes in recent weeks.
Orange confetti was thrown over Conservative former chancellor George Osborne at his wedding in Somerset on Saturday.
The material appeared similar to that used by the protest group in other demonstrations.
Asked about the incident, 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.”
Treasury minister Victoria Atkins also condemned the interruption to Mr Osborne’s wedding to his long-term partner Thea Rogers.
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.”
Around 200 people, including a string of well-known politicians and journalists, attended Mr Osborne’s wedding on Saturday amid a mystery over an email apparently sent to guests.
Among the guests attending were former prime minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha, former chancellor Sajid Javid and Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove.
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