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Target of office attack no longer at building

Tom MacDougallNorth East and Cumbria
News imageSupplied Red paint has been sprayed across the yellow bricks of the building. It has dripped down the wall and dyed the pavement red.Supplied
People poured red paint across the Newcastle office building on Monday

The company believed to be the target of a vandalism attack on a shared office space has not been based there for several months.

Northumbria Police said it was called to Rotterdam House in Newcastle at 02:45 BST on Monday, where windows had been smashed and red paint sprayed across the exterior of the building and inside its reception area.

Accounts on social media platform Instagram said the anonymous attack had aimed to target insurance company Chubb over claims it sold business insurance to Israel-based defence firm Elbit Systems and was "complicit in the genocide in Palestine".

Chubb has been contacted for comment.

International Workplace Group, which rents out office space in the premises, confirmed Chubb was no longer based at the building.

News imageSupplied The inside of the office building a woman stands with a police officer at the reception desk. Red paint has been sprayed across the marble floor and up a wall. A window on the door has been smashed and pieces of glass litter the floor.Supplied
The outside of the office and the reception inside were both sprayed with red paint

No-one has admitted responsibility for the vandalism but activists have previously daubed red paint on Chubb's offices in Manchester, London and Birmingham.

The insurance firm's website no longer shows Newcastle as one of its locations, although Rotterdam House was listed as a base in January.

Northumbria Police said nobody was reported to have been injured during the incident and inquiries were ongoing.

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