Greenpeace activists put mask on Nelson atop his column in Trafalgar square protest.
Two Greenpeace activists started climbing Nelson’s Column at 4am today to demand action on air pollution. Alison Garrigan (29) and Luke Jones (30) will attempt to fit the statue of Admiral Lord Nelson, towering 52 metres above Trafalgar Square, with an emergency face mask. Earlier this morning, a separate Greenpeace team eluded security and climbed over the fence around the Houses of Parliament to put another mask on Oliver Cromwell’s statue. Famous statues of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, Queen Victoria opposite Buckingham Palace and Eros at Piccadilly Circus have also been given protection against London’s dirty air by environmental activists. In all, 17 figures will be seen wearing a mask this morning, including Thierry Henry outside Emirates Stadium and some of London’s most famous statues. Alison Garrigan was one of the six women that famously reached Shard’s top in 2013.