EXCLUSIVE: The Swiftie ‘superfan’ arrested for trying to cover popstar’s private jet in paint: Ex-DwP civil servant, 28, who broke into Stansted in latest Just Stop Oil stunt is pictured with Taylor Swift during her 1989 World Tour

Never meet your heroes, they say. Just nine years ago biology student Jennifer Kowalski and her sister Lisa were among 15 lucky fans to come face to face with Taylor Swift backstage in Glasgow.

The pop megastar, in the midst of her 1989 world tour, looked thrilled as the Scottish Swiftie siblings lifted her in the air after her sell-out show to 14,000 people at the SSE Hydro Arena in 2015. The sisters were wearing Tay Tay-inspired dresses and had even adapted their white trainers by writing 1989 on them before the dream-come-true meeting.

But today Jennifer was one of two Just Stop Oil zealots who broke into Stansted armed with fire extinguishers filled with orange paint in search of her idol’s private jet, which landed at the airport last night carrying her parents. Swifties haven’t been happy with her use of private jets and at 5am this morning Kowalksi and co-conspirator Cole Macdonald, 22, defaced two planes on the Tarmac in the VIP area of the airfield – but apparently couldn’t find Taylor’s.

The friends hugged after the attack and laughed as they said into camera: ‘We just spray-painted the f*** out of this private jet – and the one behind’. MailOnline can reveal how Kowalski had once considered Swift her hero, calling her a ‘legend’ and claiming a lyric about being ‘polite’ but ‘powerful’ was her favorite quote. Her family would even throw parties when Taylor released new music and they saw her perform on a number of occasions in the UK.

Kowalski also shared a collage of her favorite pictures of Taylor on Facebook while a biology student at the University of Aberdeen, which could have been homemade. And in a Q&A for an environmental magazine she was asked to tell readers something ‘interesting about you’, and replied: ‘In 2015, I was one of 15 people chosen, out of about 14,000 to meet the legend that is Taylor Swift backstage after her show in Glasgow’.

She added that Taylor Swift’s song Marjorie, released in 2020, was an inspiration and the lyrics ‘Never be so polite, you forget your power; never wield such power, you forget to be polite’, was her favorite quote. Yet despite these words, today she busted her way into Stansted. Most recently the green fanatic says she was employed by the Department for Work and Pensions as a Sustainability Manager – even though she was also a proud ‘full time activist’ for JSO.

Kowalski is still listed as a civil servant on her LinkedIn but MailOnline understands she left the DWP earlier this year. MailOnline can also reveal that her co-conspirator at Stansted, Cole Macdonald, 22, is a JSO activist from Brighton who was in court only a few weeks ago for another stunt – this time for the Palestinian cause.

Kowalski and Macdonald were arrested at Stansted this morning after cutting through a fence. They then ran into the VIP area of the airfield and began spraying private jets before posing for selfies in front of the planes and hugging each other while waiting for police to arrive. Just Stop Oil claimed Taylor Swift’s luxury jet was parked there while she is in the UK for her Eras Tour. But MailOnline understands it was not one of the two jets defaced.