Man charged with legal harm after Churchill statue defaced with graffiti | EUROtoday

A person has been charged with legal harm after graffiti branding Sir Winston Churchill a “Zionist war criminal” was sprayed on his statue in Westminster.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed Caspar San Giorgio, 38, of no mounted tackle, was arrested shortly after 4am on Friday. He was taken into custody and charged simply earlier than 4am on Saturday, and is because of seem at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Saturday morning.

The bronze statue, in Parliament Square, reverse the Houses of Parliament, was defaced with phrases together with “Stop the Genocide” and “Free Palestine” sprayed in pink paint.

Further graffiti learn “Never again is Now” and “Globalise the Intifada”.

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Dutch group Free the Filton 24 claimed duty for the motion on Friday morning, posting a video on Instagram showing to indicate the incident in progress.

Free the Filton 24 defines itself as a bunch of “family and friends” of the 24 Palestine Action activists who have been charged over a break-in at one in every of Israel-based defence agency Elbit’s UK websites in 2024.

On Friday, a Greater London Authority spokesperson mentioned: “We are appalled by this vandalism to the statue of Sir Winston Churchill and work is under way to remove the graffiti as quickly as possible.”

Downing Street additionally commented on the vandalism of the statue, labelling it “completely abhorrent”.

A Number 10 spokesman mentioned: “Churchill was a great Briton. This Government will always stand up for our values and the perpetrator must be held to account.”