Topless Extinction Rebellion protesters expose ‘bare truth’ in Westminster stunt

Police detain a topless Extinction Rebellion protester outside the Houses of Parliament (Luciana Guerra/PA)

Police arrested a group of semi-naked protesters who chained themselves to railings surrounding Parliament in a bid to expose what they called the “bare truth” about the climate crisis.

At least 13 topless women attached themselves to the outside of the Palace of Westminster with bike locks around their necks on Thursday.

They were part of a larger group from the Extinction Rebellion (XR) campaign, which have used attention-grabbing techniques to highlight the threat to the planet.

The women wore masks with “4C” written on them, and with words including drought, starvation and wildfires written on their chests to highlight the anticipated consequences of global heating.

To passing MPs, a banner read: “Can’t bare the truth?”

Sarah Mintram, a teacher who took part in the action, said: “Now we’ve got your attention. By neglecting to communicate the consequences of a 4C world – war, famine, drought, displacement – the government are failing to protect us.”

Officers removed the D-locks from their necks and took the women to police stations in four separate vans as supporters cheered the protesters on from Parliament Square.

At times, XR has won wider backing from the public as they marched on cities across the UK, including grinding parts of London to a halt in protest.

But one person who is not a fan is British Home Secretary Priti Patel, who has described the activists as “so-called eco-crusaders turned criminals”, as she pledged to prevent “anarchy on our streets”.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also criticised “completely unacceptable” action in which XR protesters blocked the delivery of some of the UK’s major newspapers.