Ten people have been arrested after protesters doused the gates of Parliament with paint.
Activists from Animal Rebellion threw white paint - representing milk - at the Palace of Westminster on Wednesday morning in protest of “the destruction and cruelty of the dairy industry”.
Six people also carried out a sit-down protest in Bridge Street outside Parliament, blocking the road ahead of Liz Truss’ first Prime Minister’s Questions.
Two demonstrators superglued themselves to each other in the road, while police were seen attempting to unstick them.
Scotland Yard has confirmed 10 people have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
A video posted by Animal Rebellion showed activists spraying the gates and walls outside Parliament with white paint, and emptying it onto the ground from milk bottles.
The group says the protest - which came as Prime Minister’s Questions took place inside the House of Commons, on the first day of Liz Truss’ premiership - is an “escalation of their plant-based future” campaign.
In a post on Twitter, it said it was “calling on the government and @trussliz to support farming and fishing communities to move away from animal farming and fishing as part of an urgent transition to a plant-based food system and then rewild the freed-up land as a result”.
There was a large police presence at the scene, while parliamentary staff were seen inspecting the damage to the whitewashed Parliament walls and gate.
Andrew Howard, 63, a retired firefighter from Sheffield, said at the scene: “Today’s action is a direct challenge to Prime Minister Liz Truss.
“We are calling on her to make the drastic changes that we know need to happen in order to combat the cost-of-living, climate, and ecological crises we are facing.”
There was a large police presence at the scene, while parliamentary staff were seen inspecting the damage to the whitewashed Parliament walls and gate.
A clean-up operation is underway.
The Met confirmed at 12.40pm on Wednesday that traffic had returned to normal in the area following the protest.
