Winston Churchill statue daubed with 'was a racist' graffiti during Black Lives Matter protests
Demonstrators target memorial in Westminster for second time over weekend. Banners with messages such as “British Colonialism is to Blame” and “What if it was your son?” had earlier been left at the base of the column.
Graffiti was sprayed on the statue former prime minister Sir Winston Churchill in Westminster to add the words “was a racist”.
Activists surrounded the monument and jeered "Churchill was a racist", despite others intervening to protect it from further defacement.
The writing was added to the base of the memorial in Parliament Square during the Black Lives Matter protest on Sunday.
Video footage showed a small crowd of demonstrators chanting “Churchill was a racist” and “Boris [Johnson] is a racist”.
A smaller group of people stood around the statue in an apparent attempt to protect it.
Four uniformed police stood nearby as the crowd took photographs.
Banners with messages such as “British Colonialism is to Blame” and “What if it was your son?” had earlier been left at the base of the column.
A Black Lives Matter sign was also strapped to Churchills’ belly.
The same statue was targeted by protesters on the anniversary of D-Day on Saturday, when the letters “ACAB” were added to the base in green neon paint. It is believed to stand for “All Cops are B****rds”.
Another sculpture of Churchill in New Bond Street, central London, was splashed with white paint in January 2019.
The latest incident happened shortly after demonstrators in Bristol tore down a statue of 17th slave trader and threw it into the city’s river.
Home Secretary Priti Patel condemned the "disgraceful" act of "sheer vandalism and disorder" and called for a full investigation.
Avon and Somerset Police confirmed they have launched a probe to identify "a small group of people who clearly committed an act of criminal damage".
It prompted Piers Morgan to tweet: "Memo to protesters in Westminster today: defacing Sir Winston Churchill's statue on the 76th anniversary of D-Day is not a good way to make your point."
Activists surrounded the monument and jeered "Churchill was a racist", despite others intervening to protect it from further defacement.
The writing was added to the base of the memorial in Parliament Square during the Black Lives Matter protest on Sunday.
Video footage showed a small crowd of demonstrators chanting “Churchill was a racist” and “Boris [Johnson] is a racist”.
A smaller group of people stood around the statue in an apparent attempt to protect it.
Four uniformed police stood nearby as the crowd took photographs.
Banners with messages such as “British Colonialism is to Blame” and “What if it was your son?” had earlier been left at the base of the column.
A Black Lives Matter sign was also strapped to Churchills’ belly.
The same statue was targeted by protesters on the anniversary of D-Day on Saturday, when the letters “ACAB” were added to the base in green neon paint. It is believed to stand for “All Cops are B****rds”.
Another sculpture of Churchill in New Bond Street, central London, was splashed with white paint in January 2019.
The latest incident happened shortly after demonstrators in Bristol tore down a statue of 17th slave trader and threw it into the city’s river.
Home Secretary Priti Patel condemned the "disgraceful" act of "sheer vandalism and disorder" and called for a full investigation.
Avon and Somerset Police confirmed they have launched a probe to identify "a small group of people who clearly committed an act of criminal damage".
It prompted Piers Morgan to tweet: "Memo to protesters in Westminster today: defacing Sir Winston Churchill's statue on the 76th anniversary of D-Day is not a good way to make your point."