Three people have been arrested after Just Stop Oil protesters painted the Wellington Arch in central London orange.
The monument near Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace was sprayed with paint using fire extinguishers. Activists also spray painted the group’s skull symbol at its base.
Three protesters holding banners and flares stood in front of the grade I listed arch, which was built between 1826 and 1830 as an entrance to Buckingham Palace and later became a commemorative arch marking Britain’s victories over Napoleon.
The Metropolitan Police were alerted at about 10.20am, had officers near by and responded quickly, according to Scotland Yard, arresting three people on suspicion of criminal damage.
In recent weeks, the protest group’s actions have included temporarily blocking a coach transporting asylum seekers to the Bibby Stockholm barge and painting university buildings, including in Manchester, Cambridge and Leeds.
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The group, which is calling for an end to all new oil and gas projects in the UK, is planning daily marches in London from October 29.
One of the protesters, Joe Hogan, 40, said: “We are out of time. We have to act now ... Traditional, managed, sanitised forms of protest have done nothing. The only way forward is through sustained, disruptive civil resistance.”
On Tuesday three climate protesters were sentenced at Westminster magistrates’ court after being found guilty of aggravated trespass after two ran on to the pitch during the Ashes series at Lord’s and one was prevented from reaching the playing surface after being spotted by stewards.
Judit Murray, 69, Daniel Knorr, 21, and Jacob Bourne, 27, stopped play during the second Test between England and Australia, as security and ground staff cleaned up orange powder that was thrown on the pitch and ensured that the ground was not damaged.
The three had said they wanted to create headlines and did not want to cause disruption or damage the pitch. England player Jonny Bairstow carried Knorr off the pitch, champagne corks and fruit were thrown by cricket fans at Bourne as he was led off the field, and Murray was tackled before she could reach the wicket and held down on the grass, the court heard.
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The trio were sentenced to a 12-month community order and 60 hours of unpaid work and will have to pay £330 in costs.
Twelve other Just Stop Oil protesters are in the High Court this week accused of breaching an injunction aimed at restricting protest on the M25 after they caused “considerable delays” in November last year.
