activists have spray-painted a grave stone belonging to in yet another stunt.

The pair entered Westminster Abbey at about 10am and use spray chalk to write '' on Charles Darwin's grave, in reference to Friday's announcement that the world has exceeded the 'safe' 1.5 degree warming limit agreed by world leaders in Paris in 2015.

According to JSO, they were overheard saying: "2024 was the hottest year on record. We have passed the 1.5 degree threshold that was supposed to keep us safe.

"Millions are being displaced, California is on fire and we have lost three quarters of all wildlife since the 1970's.

"Darwin would be turning in his grave to know we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction. The government's plans will take us to over 3 degrees of warming.

"This will destroy everything we love. World leaders must stop burning oil, gas and coal by 2030."

The two protesters, named as Di Bligh, 77, and Alyson Lee, 66, were subsequently pictured with a police officer outside the Abbey.

Ms Bligh is, according to JSO, a former CEO of Reading Council, while Ms Lee is described as a retired teaching assistant.

The former said: "Darwin once said- 'It is not the strongest of the species, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change, that lives within the means available and works cooperatively against common threats.'

"Last year was the hottest since modern humans evolved. If we do not work together to reign in the corporations and billionaires driving us beyond our means, humanity will not be able to adapt to what is coming.

"We are on course to lose everything, and politicians are doing nowhere near enough to prevent it. How many will we have to bury as a result of climate breakdown and who will be left to mourn them?"

Ms Lee added: "We are trying to get the Government to act on climate change. They are not doing enough.

She said of Darwin: "I believe he would approve because he was a good scientist and he would be following the science, and he would be as upset as us with the Government for ignoring the science."

Posting on X, Westminster Police (Central West BCU) said: "Two women have been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage at Westminster Abbey.

"Police were called at 10am to reports that the woman had been detained by security.

"They have been taken to a central London police station."

The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) confirmed on Friday that last year was the warmest on record globally and the first calendar year that the average temperature exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Pursuing efforts to prevent the world warming more than 1.5C above pre-industrial temperatures is one of the key commitments of the global Paris Treaty which countries agreed to in 2015, in a bid to avert the most dangerous impacts of climate change.

The scientists said human-caused climate change was the primary driver for record temperatures, while other factors such as the Pacific Ocean's "El Nino" weather phenomenon, which raises global temperatures, also had an effect.

Analysis from the , University of East Anglia and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science also found 2024 was the hottest on record, and "likely" the first year exceeding 1.5C.

A JSO statement issued afterwards said: "Today's action comes as the death toll rises to 24 in California, as fires continue to rip across the state.

"The fires have been driven by climate breakdown after decades of drought, followed by rapid swings between extreme wet and dry conditions in the past two years.

"This has created large areas of 'tinder dry' vegetation, creating the perfect conditions for uncontrollable wildfires."

Darwin was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his vital contributions to evolutionary biology.

Express.co.uk has contacted Westminster Abbey for comment.