Members of Palestine Action used tourist cards to enter the House of Commons lobby. They targeted a statue of former prime minister Arthur Balfour, who as foreign secretary was a signatory to the Balfour Declaration – a 1917 document pledging support for the formation of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. As they sprayed the red spice, which the group described as fake blood, one protester said on Saturday morning: “Palestinians have suffered for 105 years because of this man, Lord Balfour – he gave their country away and it was not his to give .” The two protesters stuck themselves to the statue after dousing the ketchup, before unveiling a miniature Palestinian flag and chanting “free Palestine”. The Metropolitan Police said: “Police were alerted at 11.20am on Saturday November 12 to two women who had entered the Parliament Estate on tourist tickets. “They had stuck to a statue in the lobby of MPs in the House of Commons and had put ketchup over the statue and a wall.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Two women were arrested for criminal damage and taken to a London police station, where they remained on Saturday night.
