Enda Brady: UK Correspondent on Stonehenge being vandalised by UK Just Stop Oil protestors

Stonehenge being vandalised has been labelled as shameful. 

A pair of UK Just Stop Oil protestors have sprayed the ancient monument with orange paint a day before summer solstice celebrations start. 

They've been arrested on suspicion of damaging the prehistoric structure. 

UK correspondent Enda Brady told Mike Hosking that the activists said they've made a point to the next Prime Minister to stop reliance on fossil fuels. 

But he says it's resulted in the desecration of a national treasure. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
International correspondence with ins and eye insurance, peace of mind
for New Zealand business. What're we going?

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Really?

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Good morning to you, Good morning, my couldn't speak to again.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
And to you too. The two percent inflation figure we
had a little cat from Rashid. He was all already
needs every bit of good news he can possibly get
his hands on. But I think the Bank of England
and cutting tomorrow. Do people pay attention to the inflation
in that Yeah, they've made it kind of way.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
Not at all. I don't think this is going to
make the slightest bit of difference to the cost of
living crisis here. Look, it's better than what it was
two years ago when Russia started its illegal war in Ukraine.
Inflation here hit eleven percent. Energy bills went through the roof.
Then we had the Liz Truss memorable six weeks where
mortgage rates are still high and people are still paying

(00:43):
for that fiasco. I don't think inflation coming down to
two percent is going to matter a jot to anyone.
The feeling is that, you know, prices are still going up. Though,
to be fair to Sunak, he did say that one
of his core pledges a year ago. Judge me on
the five things he said, and one of them was
that he would get inflation down to two percent, and
he has done that.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Okay, So the other side of the equation, of course,
these boat people, I think, well, what do you reckon
speculate with us? If Rishie had said I'm going to
stop the boats and they're not going to come to
this country anymore, and he had done it, would it
have made any difference?

Speaker 1 (01:18):
Again, I think people are so angry and the cost
of living crisis, fourteen years of a conservative party that
appears to have run out of not only road but
ideas and leadership. I think stopping the boats wouldn't even
have shifted the dial maybe one or two percentage points.
As it stands. The figure that we got today for

(01:39):
yesterday's illegal crossings from France, so this is twenty six
nautical miles of water from French soil to English soil.
Fifteen boats got across yesterday containing eight hundred and eighty
two people, and the bottom line for the British taxpayer
is between hotels and B and b's, we're looking at

(02:00):
eight million dollars en z a day being spent on
that accommodation.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
Jeez, what to do. But then having said that, despite
the anger and I take you point, delaya have a
plan to stop the btes? Does anyone have a plane
to stop the bites?

Speaker 1 (02:14):
Starmer has been reaching out to the French and he
was granted an audience with President Macron at the Elise
a couple of months ago. So behind the scenes, I
think what Labor are doing is just trying to undo
the damage that has been done to Britain's international reputation
by Brexit. They're not going to undo Brexit in the

(02:35):
short term. I think long term a lot of people
would like to have that referendum again. But I think
what Starmer is doing is realizing that, you know, you've
got a problem that originates ultimately on French soil. These
people want to come to the UK. How can we
stop that happening? Having better relations with your nearest neighbor
would be a good starting point. And what really struck

(02:56):
me the other week, Mike, there was a story A
lot of people made a big deal out of this.
Arench policeman happened upon one of these dinghies on a
beach full of people being dragged out into the sea.
He got a penknife oult and he just snuck it
in the Dinghye game over exactly.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
Yeah, good, all practical solution to the problem this beating
scandal festival. Is it a scandal or anyway, we've gotten
a risk, But you can't go around betting on stuff
you probably knew about.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
Well, this is a police officer that was allegedly doing this,
one of Sunak's close protection officers from the met. Now
you can imagine, you know, traveling around with the Prime Minister,
perhaps driving him or being near him, or when he's
having coffee or when he's taking phone calls, he's obviously
heard something. So the allegation is that this serving police
officer from the Prime minister protection team has gone off

(03:40):
and placed the bet on the timing of the election.
If this sounds like deja vu, we did speak about
this a couple of weeks ago and was actually an
MP from the Conservative Party, Craig Williams, allegedly placing a
bet on a July election. So someone has been loose lipped.
There is an investigation into the politician. There is now
an investigation into the police officer who has been arrested

(04:04):
and is in a lot of hot water.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
Just accepting in that. So I'm tapping into your expertise
and experience here, just accepting that the Poles are broadly speaking,
going to be right in the sin Slave is going
to win the selection. Do you believe a pole that's
seen the sort of movement we've seen for Farage and
Clacton and it's astonishing effects. Savation said it was unprecedented
in modern electoral history. In other words, Farage is not
just going to win, He's going to bolt home.

Speaker 1 (04:29):
I think he will. Look he appeals to people who
voted Breggs's. He chose Clacton on Sea, which is with
the greatest of respect. It is a town that has
seen better days. He went there purely because that was
the biggest percentage share of vault for Brexit eight years
ago in that referendum. So he has chosen Clacton because

(04:52):
these are people who sing off his song sheet. They
like what he says about migration. He's a big character,
microphone in his face everywhere he goes. And as much
as you get people chucking milkshakes and with cement adam
and coffee cups, microphones, ink doesn't you know, paper doesn't refuse? Ink?
And Forage comes out with the soundbites. So I think

(05:13):
he is a nightmare for the Conservative Party now because
people who would vote for reform are never going to
vote labor in the first place, so he's chipping away
at I think elderly Conservative voters who are sick of Sunac,
sick of the Conservatives and don't believe their right wing enough,
and incomes Nigel Forage to save the day, as it were.

(05:35):
The Poles are predicting that he will get elected at
the eighth time of asking. Remember he's run for Parliament
here seven times before and has failed seven times. The
Poles are predicting the Forage wins Clacton on Sea, which
is a safe Conservative seat gun and he will also
pick up four other seats with his party. Now, the
problem long term for the Conservatives is this puts him

(05:56):
in the House of Commons. It gives him an even
bigger platform. Will call it a mandate. Does he then
try to in vague his way into the Conservative Party
and take over.

Speaker 2 (06:07):
Yeah, this is what makes it so fascinating. Those idiots
at Stonehenge. I mean they really stop oil people. Are
they just the kids who've got nothing be able to do?
And then we just wander around the world spry stuff
these days.

Speaker 1 (06:18):
It's shocking. I mean, Stonehenge is five thousand years old,
five thousand years old. Those stones were sourced from a
quarry in South Wales, which is a hell of a
long way to lug stones that big to a field
in Wiltshire. It is beautiful, it is breathtaking. There's a
mystique around Stonehenge. I've been there filming, I've been there

(06:42):
as a tourist, and I've been there at the crack
of dawn watching the sun come up, and it is
just beautiful. Why anyone would want to go and attack them.
So they're saying, now just stop oil. That it was
corn powder and it will wash off. The damage is done.
You know, tourists made. One is Shudent from Oxford. I
think she's nineteen or twenty. They're saying that they made

(07:05):
the point today that whoever is Prime Minister on July fifth,
when the election is over the next morning, whether it's
Sunak again or Starmer, comes in, that we need to
stop our reliance on fossil fuels. But the end result
is a national treasure being desecrated. Really pretty shameful stuff.

Speaker 2 (07:22):
Exactly they've got no respect in the good to see
yep in the right out of Brittany's back next Thursday
on The Mike Hosking Breakfast, Day forty five. Already for
more from the Mic Hosking Breakfast, listen live to news
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