Pro-Palestine activists descend on London as vandals target ANOTHER building with red paint amid Israel weapons row
Activists locked themselves to a suitcase and barricaded Apco's front door shut with a bike lock
PALESTINE ACTION
Pro-Palestine protesters have daubed an office building in central London with red paint once again as tensions over UK-Israeli weapons sales come to a boil.
Just as commuters were heading to work on Tuesday morning, activists on the Strand sprayed red paint over the offices of Apco Worldwide, a communications company linked to Israeli weapons firm Elbit Systems.
A trio of demonstrators armed with "repurposed fire extinguishers", after spraying the paint, locked themselves to a suitcase and barricaded Apco's front door shut with a bike lock as they stopped staff entering.
The three - two of whom were seen sporting keffiyehs, or Palestinian scarves - then unfurled a banner reading: "Stop lobbying for Genocide. Apco drop Elbit".
Activists on the Strand sprayed red paint over the offices of Apco Worldwide
GOOGLE/PALESTINE ACTION
In a statement released just after 10am, Palestine Action confirmed its activists had "struck" earlier in the morning - and the group launched into a lengthy explanation as to why it had targeted Apco.
Palestine Action cited a fact-sheet from the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists confirming Apco "provides consultant lobbying services to Elbit Systems UK" - a firm the group said "is playing a central role in the genocide in Gaza".
The protest group also took aim at the Prime Minister, whom it accused of bowing to Israeli lobbyists' demands.
It said: "Since Keir Starmer has been Prime Minister, the state has employed unprecedented powers against Palestine Action activists: Detaining them under 'counter-terror' and 'organised crime' powers, in such a way as organised lobbyists for Israel's arms trade have long demanded he use."
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Activists locked themselves to a suitcase and barricaded Apco's front door shut with a bike lockPALESTINE ACTION
The protest group also took aim at the Prime Minister, whom it accused of bowing to Israeli lobbyists' demands
PA
BREAKING: Palestine Action blockade and drench the London offices of APCO Worldwide.
— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) September 3, 2024
APCO are paid lobbyists for Israel’s biggest arms firm, Elbit Systems.
They work to secure government contracts for weapons which are “battle-tested” on Palestinians. pic.twitter.com/vys7GmNkPa
In further footage posted online of the protest, the trio of activists can then be seen being detained by police outside Apco's front doors.
The Metropolitan Police told GB News that officers attended to discovered that a building had been "damaged with paint".
They confirmed that one woman has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and taken to a central London police station, while two other women have also been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
Some three hours after police were called, the other two "remained on scene locked on to an item", the Met said - and could be seen grinning at each other in footage online.
A pair of protesters could be seen grinning as they were arrested
PALESTINE ACTION
One commuter caught up in the chaos was none other than Reform MP James McMurdock, who caught the protesters on video as he walked past.
McMurdock said: "Interesting time and world we live in, isn't it? Free Palestinian activists setting the world to right with red paint..."
Posting the video online, the MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock added: "If you have your phone snatched this morning, and the police are delayed, maybe you can thank the two 'Free Palestine' activists on the Strand!"
The protest comes mere hours after Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced the UK would be suspending dozens of weapons export licences to Israel held by British military manufacturers.
Lammy had told Parliament yesterday that it was up to the Government to assess the likelihood of a "clear risk" British weapons could be used to break international law in Gaza.
Though the Foreign Secretary noted that the move was neither a "blanket ban" nor an "arms embargo", he said it focused on items that could be used in the conflict in Gaza - indeed, just 30 out of 350 arms export licences to Israel have been rescinded.
GB News has approached Apco Worldwide for comment.