Man, 38, arrested after Parliament Square Churchill statue defaced with Zionist message
A 38-year-old man was arrested after the statue of Sir Winston Churchill in Parliament Square was defaced with graffiti that called him a Zionist war criminal. The graffiti included the word zionist as part of that phrase and other slogans such as "Stop the Genocide" and "Free Palestine" sprayed in red paint on the bronze sculpture.
Labelled 'Zionist war criminal' at dawn
The bronze statue on the north-east corner of Parliament Square in Westminster, central London, was sprayed with several messages in the early hours. Alongside "Zionist war criminal, " further graffiti read "Never again is Now" and "Globalise the Intifada. " The paint used was described as red.
Police timeline and arrests
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "Shortly after 0400hrs on Friday 27 February 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. " The force said the man remains in custody and added he was later further arrested on suspicion of supporting Palestine Action, a proscribed organisation, under the Terrorism Act.
Claims of responsibility by group
Dutch group Free the Filton 24 claimed responsibility and posted a video on its account appearing to show a man defacing the statue. The group defines itself as "family and friends" of the Palestine Action activists who were charged over a break-in at one of Israel-based defence firm Elbit's UK sites in 2024.
Official reactions and statements
A representative of 10 Downing Street described the attack as "completely abhorrent" and said: "Churchill was a great Briton. This government will always stand up for our values and the perpetrator must be held to account. " A Home Office spokesperson said: "Sir Winston Churchill is a figure of great national pride. The vile vandals defacing this statue are a disgrace. "
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 graffiti was cordoned off and being cleaned on Friday morning, and heritage wardens were removing paint from the bronze.
Community and security reactions
Commenting on an image of the monument shared online, Dave Rich, director of policy for Community Security Trust, wrote: "'Free Palestine' and a Hamas red triangle, if you zoom in close enough. This extremism is never just a threat to Jews. " The Jewish Leadership Council said it was "disgusted" and added: "In targeting the statue of a British hero who led this country in the fight against the Nazis, the perpetrator has found a perverse way to combine a hatred of Jews with a disdain for Britain. "
Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, wrote in response to the images: "One of the greatest champions for liberty, who defeated the Nazis, defaced. Zionism, the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, inverted. Santayana's 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it', never truer. "
History of past vandalism
The wartime prime minister's statue has been vandalised several times in the past, including during protests. It was scrawled with graffiti accusing Churchill of being a racist in June 2020 during a Black Lives Matter protest triggered by the death of George Floyd in the US. Later that year, in October 2020, 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.
The 12ft, 3. 6-metre monument was created by Ivor Roberts-Jones and was unveiled in 1973 by the former prime minister's wife, Lady Clementine Churchill; other references name her as Clementine Churchill. The statue is one of 12 statues on or around Parliament Square, many of well-known statesmen such as Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela.
In December both the Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police announced anyone chanting "globalise the intifada" would face arrest. That decision followed two terror attacks: one at Bondi Beach and the terror attack at Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester on 2 October.
The man arrested remains in custody while inquiries continue and the graffiti is being removed.
