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A protester poured manure by the Christmas tree in the lobby of The Ritz in London on Wednesday as a part of a public stunt. Three people were seen congregating around the tree in the iconic Mayfair hotel before pulling out plastic bags and emptying them onto the ground. Footage captured the moment the stinking manure was dumped on the hotel's floral rug before guards rushed in to pull the protesters away.

Campaign group Take Back Power claimed responsibility for the stunt, which a spokesperson said was carried out in the name of its slogan, "tax the rich to fix Britain". "Britain is broken," one supporter said in a video shared on X. "To be quite honest, the country's going to s***. It's £1,000 a night to stay in The Ritz and meanwhile, there's kids who are going to be going hungry this Christmas."

Take Back Power, which describes itself as a "non-violent civil resistance group" has called on the UK Government to introduce a "permanent citizen's assembly - a House of the People, which has the power to tax extreme wealth and fix Britain".

Ellen Redwood-Brown, 23, an NHS worker who joined the protest, told the Mail: "The billionaires, corporations, and corrupt politicians running Britain don't care about us.

"While working in the NHS I've seen people dying because they couldn't get appointments whilst doctors are working 15 hour shifts.

"The UK has 156 billionaires. We could take away 75 per cent of that wealth to fix Britain and we'd still have 156 billionaires. We must let ordinary people decide how to tax the rich."

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: "At around 12:14pm on Wednesday, 3 December officers responded to reports of criminal damage at a hotel in Piccadilly, Mayfair. On arrival, officers found horse manure had been placed in the lobby, which is believed to have been part of a protest.

"No arrests have been made at this stage and the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with any information is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 3120/03Nov."