Revealed: Privately-educated model and actress, 28, is the mastermind of Extinction Rebellion's planned attack on the Press this weekend - as 12 eco-warriors are held over London protest
The mastermind behind a planned attack on the Press by Extinction Rebellion this weekend is a privately-educated model and actress with a court record, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Gully Bujak, 28, has been convicted of criminal acts three times during XR climate protests – including for her part in blockading a major printing works in September.
A former junior head girl at Stover School in Devon – where her father used to be headmaster – she was one of six protesters found guilty of obstructing a highway in an action that stopped the distribution of millions of newspapers, including the Daily Mail.
The mastermind behind a planned attack on the Press by Extinction Rebellion this weekend is a privately-educated model and actress Gully Bujak, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Bujak, 28, has been convicted of criminal acts three times during XR climate protests – including for her part in blockading a major printing works in September
Despite it being a repeat offence, Bujak, whose real first name is Eleanor, escaped with only a £150 fine, which has left her free to plot a second attack on the media.
Many of those arrested with her went free as the prosecution was unable to prove whether they were on public or private land.
Following her conviction in May, she chaired a meeting in which she railed against the ‘corrupt and racist and awful’ media and appealed for XR activists willing to be arrested in the name of ‘destabilising’ the ‘billionaire Press’.
Gully Bujak (third from right) was one of six protesters found guilty of obstructing a highway in an action that stopped the distribution of millions of newspapers
Police believe activists plan another blockade at printworks in Hertfordshire and Merseyside after XR claimed last year’s stunt was ‘extremely successful’ and implored members to ‘keep pushing’.
Last night officers arrested 12 people at three London locations and took them into custody in what the Met called ‘proactive action’.
Bamboo structures, lock-on equipment and other items which could be used to cause criminal damage and obstructions were seized.
Police believe activists plan another blockade at printworks in Hertfordshire and Merseyside after XR claimed last year’s stunt was ‘extremely successful’ and implored members to ‘keep pushing’
Bujak said the media was a target because it was one of the four pillars of the Establishment and ‘doesn’t tell the truth on the climate crisis’
Police are expected to take a more ‘robust’ approach to any disruption this weekend after they were criticised for behaving like spectators during last year’s protest.
Bujak's brushes with law
Bujak has had several brushes with the law
April 2019: Found guilty of obstructing the highway in Oxford Circus. Six-month conditional discharge, £105 costs
December 2019: Admitted criminal damage at an air pollution protest in Leicester Sq. Nine-month conditional discharge, £388 in fines and compensation
September 2020: Found guilty of obstructing the highway at entrance to News UK printworks in Hertfordshire. Fined £150
December 2020: Arrested for throwing paint at Supreme Court in protest at ruling on Heathrow third runway
April 2021: Arrested after 19 windows were smashed at HSBC’s Canary Wharf HQ.
At the XR meeting over Zoom earlier this month, Bujak and fellow ‘rebels’ discussed plans for an ‘uprising’ against the ‘corrupt billionaire’ Press.
Bujak said the media was a target because it was one of the four pillars of the Establishment and ‘doesn’t tell the truth on the climate crisis’.
While she was coy about what action was planned, she said: ‘There will be plenty of hijinks.’
XR, which is said to be joining forces with Black Lives Matter for the first time, has publicised ‘entry-level’ plans for demonstrations in London today and tomorrow, including a march from Parliament Square ‘to one of the billionaire Press HQs’, and said protesters will turn up at Rupert Murdoch’s ‘doorstep’.
The group has admitted it will ‘be doing things that are breaking the law’ and has committed to direct action ‘spicy enough to grab the headlines’.
Protesters have been told that if they intend to cause criminal damage there is a ‘benefit’ to ensuring it is worth more than £5,000 – so their case would go to Crown Court and be heard by a jury.
Bujak, of Finsbury Park, north London, has boasted she is prepared to go to jail for her actions because she is ‘on the right side of history’.
The University of East Anglia graduate in film and English told one court: ‘History will judge you for this.’
Politicians have called for tougher punishments for XR protesters, who often receive paltry fines.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: ‘These people don’t care that their aggressive protests damage other people’s lives. When you repeatedly break the law, no matter the stated reasons, then you should face significant penalties.’
Former Labour home secretary Lord Blunkett said: ‘Those who have already identified themselves as willing to flagrantly break the law, in order to create anarchy, should be clearly identifiable and dealt with swiftly.'
XR has publicised ‘entry-level’ plans for demonstrations in London today and tomorrow, including a march from Parliament Square ‘to one of the billionaire Press HQs’, and said protesters will turn up at Rupert Murdoch’s ‘doorstep’