4 held after King Charles’ wax statue at London’s Madame Tussauds vandalised

LONDON:  A total of four people were arrested after two climate activists smeared chocolate cake over a wax statue of Britain’s King Charles III at London’s Madame Tussauds Museum.

A video shared on the Twitter page of the campaign group ‘Just Stop Oil’, captured a man and a woman smearing cake over the waxwork of the British monarch.

BREAKING: JUST STOP OIL CAKES THE KING

Two supporters of Just Stop Oil have covered a Madame Tussauds waxwork model of King Charles III with chocolate cake, demanding that the Government halts all new oil and gas licences and consents.#FreeLouis #FreeJosh #A22Network pic.twitter.com/p0DJ8v3XVB

— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) October 24, 2022

In the video, the activists were seen removing their black clothing to reveal white T-shirts with ‘Just Stop Oil’ on them before slamming the cake on the wax model of the British monarch. They were also heard shouting it is “time for action.”

A CNN report quoted the London Metropolitan Police’s tweet on Monday. “We responded quickly to an incident at Madame Tussauds after two people threw food at a statue at approximately 10:50hrs.” The police added, “Four people have been arrested for criminal damage related to this incident.”

In a statement, ‘Just Stop Oil’ said the pair are “demanding that the government halts all new oil and gas licences and consents.”

This is not the first time, activist groups across Europe designed to draw attention to the role of fossil fuels in climate change. Last week, two climate crisis protesters pelted Claude Monet’s ‘Haystacks’ painting with mashed potatoes at the Barberini Museum in Potsdam, Germany, as per CNN reports.

Earlier this month, ‘Just Stop Oil’ activists threw tomato soup at Vincent van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ in London’s National Gallery.

As per CNN, Keir Starmer, leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, condemned the actions of the “arrogant” Just Stop Oil activists, saying their methods undermined their cause. He told a caller on LBC Radio, as quoted by CNN, “I think they’re wrong, I think their action is wrong.”

He continued, “I particularly think about the images we’ve seen of ambulances coming down the road, and not being able to get through because people have glued themselves to the road. I think it’s arrogant of those gluing themselves to the road to think they’re the only people that have got the answer to this. They haven’t got the answer,” he added.

Britain’s Public and Commercial Services Union, which represents many workers from the arts and culture sector, issued a statement following the attack on Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’, saying that while they support the aims of climate change protests, “attacking our shared national heritage is not a constructive way to achieve these aims.”

The union added, “We cannot endorse these extreme and dangerous tactics which put our members at risk whilst they try to work.” (ANI)