A 38-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage after graffiti was sprayed on the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, the Metropolitan Police said.
The statue was defaced with graffiti branding the former prime minister a “Zionist war criminal”.
Other phrases including “Stop the Genocide” and “Free Palestine” were sprayed in red paint on the bronze sculpture in Westminster, central London. Further graffiti reads “Never again is Now” and “Globalise the Intifada”.
The statue has been cordoned off and was being cleaned by on Friday morning.
A Met 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.”
A representative of 10 Downing Street said the attack was “completely abhorrent”.
“Churchill was a great Briton. This government will always stand up for our values and the perpetrator must be held to account.”
By Anthony Solly
