FOUR Greenpeace activists were arrested today after scaling a building outside the Foreign Office in protest over delays in signing an international treaty protecting oceans.

The protesters unfurled a banner as they suspended themselves from columns on the King Charles Street Archway in Westminster before coming down voluntarily.

Three men and one woman were safely detained and arrested under Section 1 of the Public Order Act, and on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage, the Metropolitan Police said.

The group called for faster action from Foreign Secretary David Lammy in signing the Global Ocean Treaty, with the banner bearing a turtle and the legend: “Lammy Don’t Dally!”

The treaty, which aims to protect large areas of marine life by putting stricter regulations on deep-sea mining and fishing, was first agreed in March 2023 and has been ratified by 21 countries so far, ahead of the United Nations Ocean Conference in June.

Mr Lammy was in Brussels for a meeting of Nato foreign ministers today.

Greenpeace UK oceans campaigner Erica Finnie said that Mr Lammy has “taken inspiration from the sea snail” to pass the treaty into law.

She said: “Our climbers have been arrested, but we have left our banner as a reminder that the ocean is important for all life on Earth.

“The Foreign Secretary and his staff love to talk about the importance of nature and ocean protection, yet this historic global agreement appears to be floundering.

“Unless the government lifts the anchor fast, it risks the embarrassment of not being able to shape key decisions at the first ‘conference of the parties’.”