A 38-year-old man has been arrested after the Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square was vandalized with graffiti overnight.
The bronze monument in Westminster was sprayed with red paint that read “Zionist war criminal,” “Stop the Genocide,” and “Free Palestine.” Other slogans included “Never Again is Now” and “Globalise the Intifada”.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police were alerted shortly after 4 a.m. on Friday. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage and is still in custody.
A Dutch-based group known as Free the Filton 24 claimed responsibility for the incident. The group describes itself as made up of relatives and supporters of activists charged in connection with a 2024 break-in at a UK site linked to Israeli defence firm Elbit.
Olax Outis, a man who identified himself as the perpetrator, claimed responsibility. In a social media post, he stated that the vandalism was intended to draw attention to what he described as human rights violations and criticized the British government’s stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict.
He also said the statue was chosen because Churchill represented what he called broader political corruption.
The statue was cordoned off on Friday morning as clean-up work began.
A spokesperson for the Greater London Authority condemned the damage, saying officials were “appalled” and working to remove the graffiti as quickly as possible.
Jewish community organisations also criticised the incident. The Jewish Leadership Council said it was “disgusted” by the defacement, while the Board of Deputies of British Jews described the act as offensive and deeply troubling.
The 12-foot monument, created by sculptor Ivor Roberts-Jones and unveiled in 1973 by Lady Clementine Churchill, stands among several statues of prominent global figures in Parliament Square, including Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln.
Churchill’s statue has been targeted in previous protests. In December, both the Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police warned that chanting certain protest slogans linked to extremism could lead to arrest.
Investigations into the latest incident are ongoing.
