The statue of Sir Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, London, was defaced with graffiti early Friday morning, prompting the arrest of a 38-year-old man on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage. Metropolitan Police officers responded to the scene shortly after 4:00 AM GMT, according to a police statement.
The graffiti included the phrases “Zionist war criminal,” “Stop the Genocide,” and “Free Palestine,” sprayed in red paint on the bronze sculpture. Additional messages read “Never again is Now” and “Globalise the Intifada.” Heritage wardens, who patrol the square around the clock, alerted police to the vandalism.
A spokesperson for the Greater London Authority described the act as “appalling.” Downing Street condemned the vandalism as “completely abhorrent,” stating that the government would “always stand up for our values” and that the perpetrator “must be held to account.”
The incident comes amid heightened tensions surrounding the conflict in Gaza. The phrase “Globalise the Intifada” has recently drawn scrutiny from law enforcement in the UK, with both the Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police announcing in December that anyone chanting the slogan would face arrest, following security concerns related to incidents in Bondi Beach and Manchester.
A Dutch activist group, Free the Filton 24, claimed responsibility for the defacement, posting a video on Instagram appearing to present an individual dressed in red overalls and identifying as part of the group, painting the statue. The group describes itself as supporting the 24 Palestine Action activists charged over a 2024 break-in at a UK site belonging to Israeli defense firm Elbit. An individual identifying himself as Olax Outis, a Dutch member of the group, claimed to be the person who defaced the statue, stating the act was intended to highlight “horrible human rights violations” in Palestine.
The statue has been cordoned off and is currently undergoing cleaning. This is not the first instance of vandalism targeting the Churchill statue; it has been defaced on multiple occasions, including during Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020.
