Controversial statue outside BBC headquarters now back on display

A police officer watches as a man wearing a Spiderman mask uses a hammer and chisel to damage the Prospero and Ariel statue by Eric Gill, outside BBC Broadcasting House in London, in an apparent protest. Picture date: Saturday May 20, 2023 - (PA Wire)

The BBC has restored a sculpture outside its London headquarters after repairs, acknowledging the controversial history of its creator, Eric Gill.

The sculpture portrays Prospero and Ariel from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Gill, a leading sculptor of the 20th century who died in 1940, was revealed in later-published diaries to have sexually abused two of his daughters.