Five people have been arrested after activists climbed on the roof of the prime minister’s home to protest at 100 new North Sea oil and gas licences.

Campaigners had unfurled “oil-black fabric” on the house in a North Yorkshire village, Greenpeace said.

Two men and two women were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage and public nuisance after they returned to ground level at about 13:00 BST.

A third man was also arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance.

North Yorkshire Police said all those arrested remained in police custody.

Rishi Sunak’s office confirmed neither the prime minister nor his family were present at the time.

One of the protesters had earlier told the BBC they had scaled the building to “bring home to the prime minister the really serious consequences of a new drilling frenzy in the North Sea”.

North Yorkshire Police said the force had been made aware of the incident at Mr Sunak’s constituency home at about 08:05.

Officers had “contained the area” and no-one had entered the building, a spokesperson said.

A large cordon was put in place and specialist police liaison officers were used to bring the protesters down from the roof of the property, they added.

Assistant Chief Constable Elliot Foskett, said: “There was no threat to the wider public throughout this incident which has now been brought to a safe conclusion.”

When asked about the incident, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said he thought the British people were “sick of these stupid stunts”.

Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the incident was “disgraceful”.

“This is against the law and rightly the police are taking enforcement action.

“The prime minister’s home and family should never be targeted in this way.”

‘Under assault’

Meanwhile, the Conservative chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Alicia Kearns said the action by Greenpeace was “unacceptable”.

She said the family homes of politicians should “not be under assault”.

“Before long police will need to be stationed outside the home of every MP,” she said.

Responding to the protest, a No 10 source said: “We make no apology for taking the right approach to ensure our energy security, using the resources we have here at home so we are never reliant on aggressors like Putin for our energy.

“We are also investing in renewables and our approach supports 1000s of British jobs.”

A former deputy chief constable of North Yorkshire Police said he was “absolutely astonished” by the incident.

Peter Walker, who left the force in 2003, told BBC Radio York: “You really have to wonder how people have been able to gain access to the prime minister’s residence without hindrance.”

Mr Sunak purchased the house after becoming the MP for the rural Richmond constituency in 2015.

The Grade II listed property was built in 1826 and has extensive gardens.

In 2021, planning permission was granted for an annex with a swimming pool, gym and tennis court. (BBC)

•Greenpeace activists on the roof of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s house, covering the front of the property in black sheeting on Thursday morning

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