THE Just Stop Oil activists who attempted to target Taylor Swift’s private jet have been found guilty of criminally damaging two planes.

Jennifer Kowalski, 29, and Cole Macdonald, 23, cut through wired fencing at Stansted Airport and sprayed orange paint on the planes last June.

They planned to target Ms Swift’s private jet, but the two planes they sprayed belonged to an insurance firm and an investment group.

The pair were found guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday after a four-day trial.

In her defence, Ms Kowalski said: “I thought a lot about what [Ms Swift] might say — if we could get her attention. If she saw this it might get a reaction from her, from a place of care from a fan, instead of from a place of apathy — she’s famous for saying how much she loves her fans, and yet her fans are dying because of climate change.”

During the trial, the prosecution argued that £12,000 worth of professional cleaning was required after the action.

The defendants argued that they lacked the necessary criminal intent, explaining that they did not set out to cause damage, using paint they believed could be washed off easily and deliberately avoiding engines and cockpits.

But Judge Mill ruled that the damage was too serious for the rights to free expression and assembly under the European Convention on Human Rights to apply.

Laura O’Brien, partner at Hodge Jones & Allen, representing both defendants, said: “It is surely time for the government to focus on the climate crisis that threatens our very existence rather than wasting taxpayers’ money prosecuting women involved in a peaceful act of protest and who are no threat to the public.”

Sentencing is scheduled for October 27.