Churchill statue vandalised again as topless climate protesters chain themselves to railings

It comes a few months after it was defaced during racism demonstrations and had to be boarded up.

Winston Churchill's statue in Parliament Square has been vandalised with graffiti again.

The words "is a racist" were sprayed on the plinth beneath the statue of the wartime prime minister.

It comes only three months after it was vandalised with similar words during Black Lives Matter protests - forcing it to be boarded up for its own protection.

The statue was boarded up for a time in June

London's Metropolitan Police said a man had been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage on Thursday evening.

Today's graffiti was sprayed amid protests by Extinction Rebellion activists in the capital.

Police made arrests after at least 13 topless women put bike locks round their necks and chained themselves to railings near parliament to highlight the "bare truth" of climate change.

Bare-chested women locked themselves to railings in protest over climate change.

Words including drought, starvation and wildfires were written on their chests and they wore masks with 4C written on them - referencing the temperature increase that many scientists believe will have dire consequences for the planet.

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 women and put them into police vans Police removed the D-locks from the protesters' necks and took them away in four vans as their supporters cheered. The Met said 648 people had so far been arrested during the climate protests in London this month. Last week demonstrators delayed the delivery of millions of newspapers when they blocked printworks in Hertfordshire and Merseyside.