Arrests made after pro-Palestine protesters spray red paint over Ministry of Defence building

Pro-Palestine protesters have sprayed red paint over the Ministry of Defence headquarters in London.

The groups Youth Demand and Palestine Action jointly carried out the action on Wednesday demanding that both the Conservative and Labour parties commit to imposing a two-way arms embargo on Israel.

The activists also demand an end to all future licensing for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK, including revoking oil and gas licences issued since 2021.

In a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, several demonstrators can be seen spraying the red paint over the walls of the building before displaying a banner reading "Youth demand an end to genocide".

In a post to the Metropolitan Police official X account, the force said five people had been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and are in custody.

They wrote: "We will never tolerate people causing criminal damage to buildings under the guise of protest."

In a statement, Youth Demand said: "Young people will not accept the future those in charge have in store for us.

"We will not die quietly whilst our leaders commit us to a future of suffering and mass death. Young people are coming together to fight back."

On Monday, the group sprayed Labour's headquarters with red paint and on Tuesday held a demonstration outside Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer's home.

The latter was condemned by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who said: "We cannot and will not tolerate this."

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