London Winston Churchill statue is vandalised overnight | UK | News
The Churchill statue in London’s Parliament Square was vandalized overnight. Pictures show that the bronze statue of the former British Prime Minister, which was unveiled a few meters away from the Parliament building in 1973, was defaced with red paint and graffiti in the early hours of Friday (February 27).
Pictures that emerged Friday morning show pro-Palestinian slogans on the statue’s base and a bronze depiction of Winston Churchill. Some of the graffiti read “Zionist war criminal,” “Stop the Genocide,” “Never Now Again,” “Globalize the Intifada,” and what appeared to be “Greetings from The Hague” in Dutch.
When photos of the destroyed statue began circulating online, social media users reacted with anger. User One X wrote: “What a disgrace to the memory of the greatest Briton!”
Another commented: “This place is heading into a very dark hole.” According to an eyewitness account, the area has been cordoned off and is currently being cleared.
Reacting to the incident, Conservative Party deputy leader Matt Vickers told GB News: “This is disgusting and despicable. Whoever did this must be held to account. While we were in office we put forward legislation to help deal with this. This is an attack on democracy, it is an attack on this country, its culture and its history.”
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Many users also questioned the security in the area. One user wrote: “How come vandals did this and weren’t stopped and arrested right outside the seat of government? Is there no security in this area? Or someone needs to be sacked.”
Another commented: “The Churchill statue is defaced over and over again, but somehow it is never observed despite being in the middle of central London. Over and over again.”
David Spencer, Head of Crime and Justice at Policy Exchange, said: “This latest incident of vandalism in what is supposed to be one of London’s most protected public spaces once again raises questions about the Metropolitan Police’s willingness and capacity to deal with this type of crime. Policy Exchange has previously published landmark studies on these issues setting out a roadmap to tackle this problem; if the police are not willing to up their game here then the Government and Parliament must step in to mandate police action.”
The Express has reached out to the Met Police for a comment.
