Climate protesters disrupt Snooker Championship matches in UK

Protesters from the controversial environmental group Just Stop Oil disrupted the World Snooker Championship in the British city of Sheffield on Monday to protest the government’s licensing of new fossil fuel projects.

Two members of the group disrupted the event, which is being held at the Crucible Theatre, with one of them climbing onto a snooker table and throwing orange powder onto it.

The match between Robert Milkins and Joe Perry will resume Tuesday, the World Snooker Tour announced after the incident.

The other protester tried to glue herself to the table where Mark Allen and Fan Zhengyi were playing, but referee Olivier Marteel intervened.

Later, the two protesters were arrested by the police.

In a statement, Just Stop Oil said the protesters were Eddie Whittingham, 25, and Margaret Reid, 52.

‘Just Stop Oil is calling on everyone to pick a side. Either you are actively supporting civil resistance, fighting for life, or you are complicit with genocide,’ it said.

The group also released video footage from the protest on Twitter, saying: ‘We know new oil and gas will kill millions, but the UK government is licensing 100+ new fossil fuel projects.’

• World Snooker Championship in the British city of Sheffield