Man charged with criminal damage after Churchill statue defaced with graffiti
A man has been charged with criminal damage after his statue in Westminster was sprayed with graffiti branding Sir Winston Churchill as a “Zionist war criminal”.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that Caspar San Giorgio, 38, of no known address, was arrested shortly after 4am on Friday. He was taken into custody and charged just before 4am on Saturday and is expected to appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Saturday morning.
A bronze statue in Parliament Square, opposite the Houses of Parliament, was defaced with phrases such as “Stop the Genocide” and “Free Palestine” in red paint.
Additionally, graffiti read “Never Not Now Again” and “Globalize the Intifada.”
Dutch group Free the Filton 24 claimed responsibility for the action on Friday morning and posted a video on Instagram showing the incident in progress.
Free the Filton 24 describes itself as a group of “family and friends” of 24 Palestine Action activists accused of trespassing at one of the UK facilities of Israel-based defense firm Elbit in 2024.
On Friday, a Greater London Authority spokesman said: “We are appalled by this vandalism of the statue of Sir Winston Churchill and work is underway to remove the graffiti as soon as possible.”
Downing Street also commented on the statue’s vandalism, describing it as “utterly disgusting”.
A spokesman for No 10 said: “Churchill was a great Briton. This Government will always defend our values and the perpetrator must be held to account.”
