Man Arrested After Churchill Statue Vandalised in Parliament Square
A 38-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage after the statue of Sir Winston Churchill in Westminster was defaced with graffiti. The incident occurred in the early hours of Friday morning, with the Metropolitan Police confirming officers were on the scene shortly after 4am.
Graffiti Includes Political Slogans
The bronze sculpture in Parliament Square, central London, was sprayed with red paint bearing multiple phrases. These included "Zionist war criminal" directed at the former prime minister, along with "Stop the Genocide," "Free Palestine," "Never again is Now," and "Globalise the Intifada." The statue has since been cordoned off and cleaning operations were underway on Friday morning.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson stated: "Shortly after 4am on Friday February 27 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."
Group Claims Responsibility
Dutch group Free the Filton 24 claimed responsibility for the action on Friday morning. The group posted a video on its Instagram account appearing to show a man dressed in red coveralls with "I support Palestine Action" written on the back, painting the statue. Free the Filton 24 defines itself as a group of "family and friends" of 24 Palestine Action activists charged over a 2024 break-in at a UK site of Israeli defence firm Elbit.
Olax Outis, who identified himself as Dutch and part of the action group, claimed to be the man on the statue. In a statement on the Instagram account, Mr Outis said he defaced the statue "to draw attention to the horrible human rights violations happening in a country that's run by colonisers who refuse to listen to their people."
He added: "The current British Government should be dragged before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, and as a representative of The Hague, I'm here to hold them accountable." Explaining why he chose the Churchill statue, Mr Outis said: "To be blunt: if someone would ever be completely out of their mind enough to erect a statue of Keir Starmer or Yvette Cooper, I would happily demolish such an effigy. Churchill is but a symbol of the same political corruption."
History of Vandalism and Official Response
The former prime minister's statue has been vandalised several times in the past, including during protests. In June 2020, graffiti accusing him of being a racist was scrawled on the statue during a Black Lives Matter protest triggered by the death of George Floyd in the US. In October that year, an Extinction Rebellion activist was ordered to pay more than £1,500 after defacing the statue by painting "racist" on its plinth during a climate protest.
A Greater London Authority spokesperson said: "We are appalled by this vandalism to the statue of Sir Winston Churchill and work is under way to remove the graffiti as quickly as possible." The 12ft monument, created by Ivor Roberts-Jones, was unveiled in 1973 by the former prime minister's wife Lady Clementine Churchill. It is one of 12 statues in or around Parliament Square, most of well-known statesmen such as Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela.
Last December, the Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police announced that anyone chanting the controversial slogan "globalise the intifada" would face arrest. This decision came after the Bondi Beach terror attack in Australia and the attack at Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester on October 2.
