Just Stop Oil protesters plead not guilty to damaging private jets at airport used by Taylor Swift

Two Just Stop Oil protesters have pleaded not guilty to criminal damage after two private jets were sprayed with orange paint at Stansted Airport.

Jennifer Kowalski, a 28-year-old from Dumbarton, and Cole Macdonald, aged 22 and from Brighton, appeared before Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday.

Both defendants pleaded not guilty to charges of causing criminal damage and interfering with national infrastructure.

They were both granted bail ahead of a trial at the same court which is scheduled from September 2025, with conditions including that they do not go within a mile of an airport except whilst on moving public transport.

They are alleged to have used angle grinders to break through an airport fence at around 5am on 20 June, before using fire extinguishers filled with paint.

Prosecutors allege that the cost of cleaning up the paint was £52,000, though an earlier hearing was told that the full cost including the damage to the fence and the amount needed to fund extra security was not yet known.

The aircraft were owned by Prudential Insurance and by an investment group, according to charges read to the court.

Essex Police previously confirmed that the private jet of pop star Taylor Swift – which Just Stop Oil said had landed at Stansted “mere hours before” – was not at the airport at the time.

Judge Mary Loram KC set a pre-trial review hearing for 26 August next year, with the trial due to start the following month and expected to last three to four days.

Additional reporting by PA