Two women charged after jam smeared on bust of Queen Victoria in Glasgow Kelvingrove Art Gallery protest

Two women have been charged after protesters smeared jam and porridge over a bust of Queen Victoria and spray-painted an expletive on its plinth.

Campaign group This Is Rigged held a demonstration at Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum to protest rising food insecurity in the UK.

Photos posted by the group show a pot of oats and a jar of jam being spread over the royal statue on Sunday afternoon.

One protester used spray paint to write the word “c***” onto its stand.

<em>The Victoria bust covered in porridge and jam</em>.”/><cite class=cite>This Is Rigged</cite></div><figcaption aria-hidden=true><em>The Victoria bust covered in porridge and jam</em>. <cite class=hidden>This Is Rigged</cite></figcaption></figure><p>The two women then reportedly glued themselves to the plinth of the marble bust.</p><p>“We refuse to be dragged back to the Victorian era,” they said. “Diseases of starvation including scurvy and rickets are on the rise.</p><p>“Freedom begins with breakfast and if you can’t understand that, we’ll shove it in your face. Food is a human right, and we call out the rotten systems under which we are suffering.”</p><p>The group said it will continue action until the price of baby formula is reduced back to what it was in March 2021 and the Scottish Government funds a community food hub for every 500 households in Scotland.</p><p>Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum was forced to close during the protest but later reopened. However, the section containing the bust will remain closed until the museum’s team establish the extent of the damage to the statue.</p><p>Pro-Palestine protesters previously <a href=https://news.stv.tv/west-central/pro-palestine-protesters-shut-down-kelvingrove-museum-in-glasgow-during-sit-in>shut down the Glasgow landmark in November</a> after staging a sit-in.</p><figure class=wp-block-image><div class=relative><img loading=lazy decoding=async src=https://prod.news.stv.tv/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/bb1c3c6c1cc7de2577e45945cee6e25e-1660903733.jpg width=1200 height=628 srcset= — Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum has become a popular spot for protesters. iStock

A spokesperson from Police Scotland said: “At around 11.55am on Sunday police were called to a report of a protest and alleged vandalism within Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow.

“Two women, aged 23 and 30 years, have been arrested and charged following the incident.

“They have been released on an undertaking to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court at a later date.

“A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”

A spokesperson for Glasgow Life, which runs the city’s museums, said: “On Police Scotland’s advice, we temporarily closed Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum earlier this afternoon after climate protestors covered a bust of Queen Victoria in porridge and jam and spray-painted an offensive word on the plinth below the statue.

“Two people were subsequently arrested.

“The museum has since reopened, however the Expression Court where the statue is displayed will remain partially closed for the rest of the day while our conservation team works to ascertain the extent of any damage.

“The profanity has been removed.”