The statue of Sir Winston Churchill in Parliament Square in Westminster has been defaced in a single day with “Zionist war criminal” and different graffiti.
Other phrases together with “Stop the Genocide” and “Free Palestine” have been sprayed in crimson paint on the bronze sculpture.
Further graffiti learn “Never again is Now” and “Globalise the Intifada”.
The statue has been cordoned off and was being cleaned this morning.
Pic: PA
Commenting on the picture, which was shared on X, Dave Rich, director of coverage for Community Security Trust, posted: “Free Palestine” and a Hamas crimson triangle, for those who zoom in shut sufficient. This extremism isn’t only a menace to Jews.”
One social media user wrote: “What a shame to the reminiscence of the best Briton!”
Another posted: “Educating the plenty – he was certainly a Zionist War Criminal”.
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The 12ft-tall statue on the north-east corner of the square, 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 on or around Parliament Square, most of well-known statesmen such as Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln.
The former prime minister’s statue has been vandalised several times over the years, including during demonstrations.
Pic: PA
It was daubed with graffiti accusing Sir Winston of being a racist in June 2020 throughout a Black Lives Matter protest sparked by the demise of George Floyd in the US.
In October of that yr an Extinction Rebellion activist was ordered to pay greater than £1,500 after portray “racist” on its plinth throughout a local weather protest.
Last December each the Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police introduced anybody chanting “globalise the intifada” would face arrest.
The resolution by the 2 police forces got here in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror assault, and the fear assault at Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester on 2 October.
The Metropolitan Police and Westminster City Council have been contacted for remark.
