A man has been arrested after a statue of Sir Winston Churchill in central London was vandalised with pro-Palestine graffiti.
“Free Palestine”, “Zionist war criminal” and “Globalise the intifada” were sprayed in red paint on the bronze sculpture in Parliament Square, Westminster.
The words: “Never again is now” and “Stop the genocide” were also painted on the monument.
The Met Police said a 38-year-old man seen spraying graffiti on the statue shortly after 4am on Friday is in custody after being arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage.
The statue has been cordoned off and was being cleaned on Friday morning.
Downing Street condemned the “completely abhorrent” incident, with the prime minister’s spokesperson calling it a “disgrace”.
“Churchill was a great Briton, and this government will always stand up for our values. The perpetrator must be held to account,” they said.
The sculpture has been a target for protesters in the past and was also vandalised during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and climbed on by trans activists during demonstrations last year.
Last summer, it became a crime to climb on Churchill’s statue, as the government announced offenders could face up to three months in prison and fined £1,000 for desecrating the monument to the former prime minister.
The statue was added to a list of protected monuments, including the Cenotaph in Whitehall and the Royal Artillery Memorial.
Last December, both the Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police announced anyone chanting the controversial slogan “globalise the intifada” would face arrest.
The decision by the two police forces was made in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack, and the terror attack at Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester on 2 October.
Speaking on today’s arrest, a Met Police spokesperson said: “Shortly after 04:00hrs on Friday 27 February, a man was seen spraying graffiti on the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square.
“The first officers were on the scene within two minutes. The man – who is 38 – was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage.
“He remains in custody.”
The 12ft statue of the Second World War leader was unveiled in Westminster Square in 1973 by his widow, Clementine, eight years after her husband had died. Both Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother attended the ceremony.
It’s understood that Churchill personally chose the spot where he wanted the statue when the redevelopment for Parliament Square was being approved in the 1950s.
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