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Climate change activists strip off during Brexit debate

Conservative MP Nigel Evans (right) greets a protester as he arrives at the Houses of Parliament in central London on April 1, 2019. PHOTO | ISABEL INFANTES | AFP

What you need to know:

  • The protesters carried out their protest in the chamber's public gallery.

  • They had slogans like "SOS" and "Stop Wasting Time!" painted on their bodies.

  • The political crisis over Brexit has gripped Britain, allowing little government time for other issues.

LONDON,

Eleven climate change protesters stripped off in Britain's House of Commons on Monday during another lengthy debate about Brexit, chastising MPs for ignoring the urgent environmental needs of the planet.

"I'm tired of the time and resources our government wastes rearranging the deckchairs on the Brexitanic," Iggy Fox, a 24-year-old wildlife biologist and one of the protesters, said in a statement.

Mark Ovland, 35, said: "We are impelled to act in this way because the most important and pressing issue of our time is being flagrantly and recklessly ignored."

The protesters carried out their protest in the chamber's public gallery, stripping down to their underwear as MPs debated the merits of different Brexit strategies below.

Some of them wore thongs and pressed their naked buttocks against a glass partition as MPs stared but House of Commons Speaker John Bercow did not interrupt proceedings.

They had slogans like "SOS" and "Stop Wasting Time!" painted on their bodies.

Some also glued their hands to a glass partition, making it harder for security guards to remove them.

Two of the group wore full grey body paint and elephant masks to make the point that the climate crisis had become an "elephant in the room" for British politicians.

The political crisis over Brexit has gripped Britain, allowing little government time for other issues.

The protest was organised by Extinction Rebellion, a British group which has staged a number of high-profile demonstrations in recent weeks.