The orange paint menace to historical monuments that is Just Stop Oil needs to be stopped - Andrew Vine

Because make no mistake, the public are sick and tired of being berated and inconvenienced by a bunch of conceited, self-righteous and entitled fanatics who believe that criminal damage or stopping people from getting to work are legitimate tactics to make a point.

The outrage at last week’s vandalism of Stonehenge by two Just Stop Oil activists was proof of that, and the attack on a site that is emblematic of our country’s history ought to be a watershed moment when we declare enough is enough.

These guerilla tactics have been tolerated for far too long.

We’ve seen the World Snooker Championships at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre disrupted by orange powder thrown over a table, traffic in Leeds brought to a standstill, London paralysed by slow marches and idiots glueing themselves to roads, and attempts to stop the Grand National being run.

Banks have had their windows smashed and premises covered in red paint, priceless and iconic paintings had soup thrown all over them, and as protests descended into the absurd, a pair of geriatric vandals attempted to smash open a display case containing a copy of Magna Carta.

A day after Stonehenge was splattered with orange paint, more Just Stop Oil maniacs did the same to a private jet at Stansted Airport, believing it belonged to superstar singer Taylor Swift.

It doesn’t take any stretch of the imagination to predict that as election day nears, somebody will take it into their head to target a venue or event connected to the Labour or Conservative campaigns.

We’ve already witnessed the spectacle of Sir Keir Starmer being showered with glitter by a protester who got onto the stage at last year’s Labour conference, an astonishing breach of security.

And during this great summer of sport, it’s a fair bet we’ll see attempts to disrupt the Euros being played in Germany, next month’s Olympics in France or Wimbledon.

It’s beyond time that we got tough with these people, and by doing so, we’d be following in the footsteps of friends and neighbours who have also run out of patience with similar protests and are clamping down on them.

Italy has introduced a law imposing fines of up to 50,000 euros for those who attack monuments, and France is also considering toughening up penalties after a spate of attacks on artworks.

In the United States, a woman who sprayed paint over a statue in the National Gallery of Art has been jailed for 60 days and ordered to pay the equivalent of £3,000 towards the cost of cleaning the artwork.

Well done to the judge who handed down that sentence. Punishment is the only language this category of protester understands. They are immune to reason, as has been shown by those who blocked roads in London and ignored pleas to be let through from people who could not get to hospital appointments as a result.

But nobody should be surprised by the casual callousness of that. The holier-than-thou narcissism of those wrapped up in their own righteousness – usually, though not exclusively, on environmental issues – is breathtaking.

Far from being visionaries, they are so blinkered that they cannot see their actions harm the causes they champion. Throwing paint or soup and blocking roads doesn’t attract support. It alienates and angers.

It’s striking that the rise in guerilla tactics has run in parallel with the criminal courts buckling under a backlog of cases.

Set against victims waiting years for justice because trials are endlessly delayed, finding time to deal with people who are damaging ancient monuments is not a priority, so many of those arrested for throwing paint are either released without charge or given a police caution.

Those responsible for vandalism know this, and it emboldens them. That’s why a new fast track is needed to get them into court and sentenced within a day of the offence being committed. There should be a presumption the penalty will include paying the costs of any repairs or restorations.