Activists target Picasso work to protest Israel arms sales

Activists on Wednesday briefly pasted a photo of a bloodied mother and child in Gaza over a Picasso painting at a London gallery, calling for an arms embargo on Israel.

The National Gallery said two people had been arrested by police after an incident involving Picasso's 1901 work "Motherhood" and that no damage had been carried out.

The Youth Demand group said two protesters stuck a photograph of the mother and child on the protective glass cover over Picasso's work.

A social media video posted by the group showed a security guard taking down the photo. One protester shouted "Free, free Palestine" as he was frogmarched out of the room and detained.

As he was on the floor, the protester said the UK government was "complicit in genocide" in Gaza, and that there was widespread support for stopping weapons sales.

Youth Demand has previously protested at the Cenotaph war memorial in London and planned to disrupt King Charles III's speech to open parliament earlier this year.

The National Gallery said in a statement that two people entered the room housing the Picasso. "One was apprehended after initially attempting to attach what appeared to be a piece of paper to an artwork. Some paint was thrown on the floor," it added.

"Police attended and arrested the pair. The room is currently closed. There has been no damage to any paintings."

London's Metropolitan Police said two people were taken into custody after being detained on suspicion of criminal damage.

Two climate activists from the group Just Stop Oil were last month jailed for 20 months and two years respectively for throwing soup at Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" at the National Gallery.

Several other paintings have been targeted in protests by climate campaign groups.