Two people with This Is Rigged have sprayed the words ‘the people are mightier than a lord'(Picture: Twitter/@Thisis_Rigged)

Climate activists from This Is Rigged have spray-painted on a portrait of the King, the group has claimed.

Two people from the group sprayed the painting in Edinburgh’s National Portrait Gallery with the words ‘The people are mightier than the lord’ yesterday.

One person held a stencil on the glass covering the painting while the other sprayed it with pink paint, the group has said.

Ben Taylor, a 28-year-old gardener from Ayrshire who took action, said: ‘Why does the Scottish government think it’s acceptable to keep allowing new oil and gas projects to go ahead, without even opposing them?

‘If we want a future for our young people, they need to oppose all new oil and gas licences.

‘This is the most basic step they can take to secure a chance at a liveable future. Until this happens, we will continue to target the Scottish government, forcing them to use the powers they do have to stand up for the people.’

This is Rigged has been participating in a sustained series of actions designed to target key fuel suppliers in Scotland with blockades.

Four occupations took place at Grangemouth and at the NuStar Terminal in Clydebank, with fuel prevented from leaving both terminals, cutting off the majority of Scotland’s petroleum supplies.

This is Rigged has been participating in a sustained series of actions designed to target key fuel suppliers in Scotland with blockades (Picture: Twitter/@Thisis_Rigged)

On Sunday, two activists scaled The Kelpies, stating that they would not be ‘lured underwater’ by the fossil fuel industry.

The 100ft-high steel artwork is just by the Grangemouth Refinery, one of the only crude oil refineries in Scotland and one of six across the UK. 

In Scottish folklore, kelpies are shape-shifting horse-like spirits found in lochs that tempt children before drowning and devouring them in the murky depths.

‘As the Scottish government continues to allow oil and gas licences to go ahead in Scotland, they’re leading us to the same fate,’ one This Is Rigged protester said.

‘The land on which The Kelpies were built will be submerged underwater by 2050. Isn’t this a bit ironic?’

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Two people with This Is Rigged have sprayed the words ‘the people are mightier than a lord’.