Extinction Rebellion sprays UK finance ministry with fake blood

Members of the environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion on Thursday used a decommissioned fire engine to spray fake blood over the front of Britain's finance ministry in London.

Protesters, who sprayed 1,800 litres of the fake blood outside the Treasury, also held up banners at the site demanding Britain "stop funding climate death".

Extinction Rebellion said it staged the protest to show "the inconsistency between the UK government's insistence that the UK is a world leader in tackling climate breakdown, and the vast sums it pours into fossil fuel exploration and carbon-intensive projects".

The liquid was water coloured with food dye, it added. London's Metropolitan Police said four people -- three men and one woman -- were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage following the incident. "People on a privately-owned fire engine had sprayed a liquid at the Treasury building," it added in a statement.

"No reported injuries."