Man Charged with Criminal Damage After Churchill Statue Defaced in Parliament Square
A 38-year-old man has been charged with criminal damage following an incident where Winston Churchill's statue in Parliament Square, London, was sprayed with graffiti. The Metropolitan Police arrested Caspar San Giorgio, who has no fixed address, in the early hours of Friday morning, and he is due to appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court shortly.
Graffiti Includes Slogans Such as 'Zionist War Criminal' and 'Free Palestine'
The bronze sculpture was defaced with red paint, bearing phrases like 'Zionist war criminal', 'stop the genocide', 'free Palestine', 'never again is now', and 'globalise the intifada'. Last December, the Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police announced that chanting the slogan 'globalise the intifada' could lead to arrest, following terror attacks at Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester and Bondi Beach in Australia.
Statue Cleaned and Authorities Condemn Vandalism
After the attack, the statue was cordoned off and cleaned on Friday morning. A Greater London Authority spokesperson expressed outrage, stating that work was underway to remove the graffiti as quickly as possible. Downing Street also condemned the vandalism, with a No 10 spokesperson calling it 'completely abhorrent' and emphasising that Churchill was a great Briton, with the perpetrator needing to be held accountable.
History of Vandalism and Background of the Monument
Churchill's statue has been targeted multiple times in the past. During a Black Lives Matter protest in June 2020, graffiti accusing Churchill of racism was written on it, and in October of that year, an Extinction Rebellion activist was ordered to pay over £1,500 for painting 'racist' on its plinth. The 3.6-metre monument, created by Ivor Roberts-Jones and unveiled in 1973 by Clementine Churchill, is one of 12 statues in Parliament Square, which includes figures like Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela.
