Two Just Stop Oil protesters have been arrested after glass protecting the Rokeby Venus painting at the National Gallery was smashed.
The Metropolitan Police said two activists had been arrested on Monday on suspicion of causing criminal damage.
The artwork, which was painted by Diego Velazquez in the 1600s, was previously slashed by suffragette Mary Richardson in March 1914.
Just Stop Oil named the pair as Hanan, 22, and Harrison, 20, and said they used safety hammers to smash the glass.
Following the incident, they said: “Women did not get the vote by voting; it is time for deeds not words. It is time to Just Stop Oil.
“Politics is failing us. It failed women in 1914 and it is failing us now. New oil and gas will kill millions. If we love art, if we love life, if we love our families we must Just Stop Oil.”
💥 SUFFRAGETTE PAINTING SMASHED
— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) November 6, 2023
💀 Our government have revealed plans for MORE oil licences, knowing it will kill millions. In response, two supporters of Just Stop Oil smashed the Rokeby Venus — slashed by Mary Richardson in 1914.
⏱ Deeds, not words: https://t.co/3tlBID7nKA pic.twitter.com/Hk0el26QIt
Also on Monday activists were arrested after a march took place on Whitehall near the Cenotaph.
The protest group has begun a three-week campaign, which they claim will cause disruption on an “unprecedented scale”.
It has also held dozens of blockades of major roads during rush hour as part of its strategy.
More than 20 people have been charged after a demonstration in west London.
A group of 45 marched on Earl’s Court Road, near to the junction with Cromwell Road on Wednesday, with activists "deliberately going floppy” as police tried to take them away.
The Met said 23 people were charged with breaching Section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023.
Just Stop Oil is demanding the government refuse any new fossil fuel licences.
