Six people have been arrested after Greenpeace activists poured hundreds of litres of blood-red dye into the US embassy’s pond in protest against arms sales to Israel.
Greenpeace UK said 12 activists tipped 300 litres of “non-toxic, biodegradable dye from containers emblazoned with the words Stop Arming Israel” into the pond in front of the embassy building in Nine Elms, south-west London, on Thursday.
The Metropolitan Police said six people had been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and conspiracy to cause criminal damage.
Greenpeace UK’s co-executive director, Will McCallum, was among those arrested, the environmental campaigning group said.
It added that the protest was to “highlight the death and devastation caused in Gaza as a direct result of the US’s continued sale of weapons to Israel”.
The containers of dye were delivered to the embassy on bicycles with trailers disguised as delivery bikes, Greenpeace UK said.
The US embassy said the protest had “damaged a 1.5 million gallon water supply on the property, wasting a local environmental resource”.
The Metropolitan Police said there was “no breach or attempted breach of the secure perimeter” of the US embassy, as the pond was accessible via a public footpath.
Areeba Hamid, co-executive director at Greenpeace UK, said the US government “bears a heavy responsibility for the horrors unfolding in Gaza”.
She added: “We’ve turned the embassy pond blood red because US weapons continue to fuel an indiscriminate war that’s seen bombs dropped on schools and hospitals, entire neighbourhoods blasted to rubble, and tens of thousands of Palestinian lives obliterated.
“The ceasefire (US President Donald) Trump claimed credit for has collapsed and full-scale war is back.
“If Trump has any real interest in stopping the war, he should listen to the majority of Americans and stop arming Israel now. And the UK Government should do the same.”
The Metropolitan Police said: “Officers on duty at the US embassy in Nine Elms became aware of a group of Greenpeace protesters putting red dye into the pond at the side of the building.
“The group made off but officers responded quickly and carried out a search of the area.
“Six people have so far been arrested nearby on suspicion of criminal damage and conspiracy to cause criminal damage.
“The pond is accessible via a public footpath. There was no breach or attempted breach of the secure perimeter of the site.”
A US embassy London spokesperson said: “While the US embassy supports the right to peaceful protest, we strongly condemn any acts of violence or property damage.
“Today’s act damaged a 1.5 million gallon water supply on the property, wasting a local environmental resource.”
A separate protest by supporters of Youth Demand calling for an end to arms sales to Israel took place in central London on Thursday, the group said.
The campaign group said 27 supporters in two teams blocked traffic on Buckingham Palace Road and Waterloo Road at about 9am.
It said they stepped into the carriageway and unfurled banners reading Youth Demand an End to Genocide and Stop Arming Israel, and let off smoke flares.
