February 27, 2026, 1:35 p.mFebruary 27, 2026, 1:35 p.m
The famous statue of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill in central London was defaced early this morning.
The alleged perpetrator was arrested.Image: keystone
The pictures show slogans such as “Liberate Palestine”, “Stop the genocide”, “Never again is now” and “Zionist war criminal” written in red paint.
Officers from London’s Met Police arrested a 38-year-old on suspicion of racially motivated criminal damage, police said in an X post. The man is in custody. According to British media, the statue in Parliament Square in Westminster has been cordoned off with police tape and is currently being cleaned.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war, there have been repeated pro-Palestinian demonstrations and protests in British cities. The classification of the group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization caused a stir, which resulted in hundreds of people being arrested at demonstrations in recent months. The High Court recently ruled that the ban on the group was unlawful under terrorism laws.
The statue has been defaced several times in the past.Image: keystone
Winston Churchill (1874-1965) is one of the most famous political figures in Great Britain. As prime minister, he led the United Kingdom through the Second World War and the later post-war years. Outside Great Britain, however, he is also associated with British colonial policy – in India, for example, with his role in the famine in Bengal in 1943. In 1937, before the founding of the State of Israel, he said of Palestinian Arabs that they were on a lower level than the Jews who immigrated at the time.
The memorial was unveiled in 1973 by the widow of the wartime prime minister, according to the BBC. The statue has been defaced several times in the past, including in June 2020 during a Black Lives Matter demonstration. (sda/dpa)
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