Advertisement

Topless Extinction Rebellion protesters expose ‘bare truth’ in Parliament stunt

Police arrested a group of semi-naked protesters who chained themselves to railings surrounding Parliament in a bid to expose what they called the “bare truth” about the climate crisis.

At least 13 topless women attached themselves to the outside of the Palace of Westminster with bike locks around their necks on Thursday.

They were part of a larger group from the Extinction Rebellion (XR) campaign, which have used attention-grabbing techniques to highlight the threat to the planet.

An Extinction Rebellion protester in a police van outside the Houses of Parliament
An Extinction Rebellion protester in a police van outside the Houses of Parliament (Victoria Jones/PA)

The women wore masks with “4C” written on them, and with words including drought, starvation and wildfires written on their chests to highlight the anticipated consequences of global heating.

To passing MPs, a banner read: “Can’t bare the truth?”

Sarah Mintram, a teacher who took part in the action, said: “Now we’ve got your attention. By neglecting to communicate the consequences of a 4C world – war, famine, drought, displacement – the Government are failing to protect us.”

Officers removed the D-locks from their necks and took the women to police stations in four separate vans as supporters cheered the protesters on from Parliament Square.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police also confirmed a man had been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square on Thursday evening.

Watch: Churchill statue vandalised again as topless climate protesters chain themselves to railings

Pictures shared on social media appeared to show graffiti had been sprayed on the statue branding the former prime minister a “racist”.

Police detain two Extinction Rebellion protesters in Parliament Square
Police detain two Extinction Rebellion protesters in Parliament Square (Victoria Jones/PA)

The Met said they have so far arrested 648 people while policing the protests in London since the beginning of the month.

At times, XR has won wider backing from the public as they marched on cities across the UK, including grinding parts of London to a halt in protest.

But one person who is not a fan is Home Secretary Priti Patel, who has described the activists as “so-called eco-crusaders turned criminals”, as she pledged to prevent “anarchy on our streets”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson also criticised “completely unacceptable” action in which XR protesters blocked the delivery of some of the UK’s major newspapers.