Climate protestors from the group "This is Rigged" have vandalized the entrance to the Scottish Parliament by throwing red paint over it. The demonstration was carried out as a response to

the granting of new North Sea oil licenses, and the group claims it is in protest of the government's "political failure" to oppose all new oil and gas projects.

The protest was triggered by Chancellor Rishi Sunak's announcement of support for 100 new oil and gas projects in the North Sea, which the activists strongly oppose. The Scottish government's silence on the matter has been criticized by the group, who demand that it publicly voice its opposition to the move.

The "This is Rigged" group has previously staged protests at other locations, including the Grangemouth petrochemical plant and Rothesay Dock oil terminal in Clydebank.

As a result of the vandalism, the Scottish Parliament had to cancel its free public tours and close the building earlier than scheduled. The public gallery was also cleared during the incident due to repeated interruptions from the protestors.

The demonstration at Holyrood has now become a police matter, and officers from Police Scotland were present during the incident.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has defended the granting of new North Sea licenses, emphasizing that it will support thousands of jobs across the UK. He also justified the move by arguing that importing energy supplies with higher carbon footprints than domestic sources would make "absolutely no sense." The government is committed to transitioning to a net-zero approach in a "proportionate and pragmatic" manner. Photo by User:Erik Christensen, Wikimedia commons.