Pro-Palestine protestors calling for an arms embargo on Israel have doused the Labour Party’s headquarters in red paint in a protest against the party’s stance on the war in Gaza.
Demonstrators from the Youth Demand group insisted both the government and official opposition should commit to preventing the supply of weapons to the country.
The group wrote on social media: “Labour has blood on their hands. They are complicit in the murder of Palestinians, and millions of people around the world, as they continue to drive genocide.”
The Metropolitan Police confirmed 12 people had been arrested over the protest.
Labour has faced criticism for not taking a tough enough position on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Keir Starmer’s party’s has said arms exports to Israel should be suspended if ministers have received legal advice that it has breached international law, but has resisted backing an embargo without seeing the guidance.
The government has come under increased pressure in recent days to publish the advice it has been given following an attack which killed seven aid workers in Gaza, including three Britons.
On Sunday, deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden said the UK will halt arms sales to Israel if it is found to be breaking international law in its war with Hamas.
The deputy prime minister said the government had “concerns” about the way the country is conducting itself in Gaza.
But he insisted that, at the moment, the legal advice “has not changed” and that arms sales to Tel Aviv could continue.