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A man has been taken into custody following the vandalism of a statue honoring former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill in London. The Metropolitan Police shared details of the incident on X, previously known as Twitter.
Images reveal the statue and its pedestal smeared with red graffiti featuring slogans like “NEVER AGAIN IS NOW,” “ZIONIST WAR CRIMINAL,” and “GLOBALISE THE INTIFADA!”
According to a post made by the police on Friday, “The Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square was vandalized with red paint overnight.”
In an image captured by REUTERS/Carlos Jasso, a woman is seen photographing the Churchill statue in Parliament Square, which had been defaced with red paint and the words “Free Palestine” as of February 27, 2026.
The police reported, “Officers arrived at the scene within two minutes of the alert, which came shortly after 4 a.m. A 38-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage and remains in custody.”
A Dutch activist group claimed credit for the graffiti.Â
The statue of Sir Winston Churchill, which was defaced overnight with red paint and the words “Never again is now,” in Parliament Square, London, England, Feb. 27, 2026. (Reuters/Carlos Jasso)
“On the morning of 27th February, the statue of Winston Churchill at Parliament Square was defaced with red paint. This protest was organised and executed by @freethefilton24nl,” a post on Instagram claims.
The post features a pre-recorded statement in which a man says, “My name is Olax Outis. I am a citizen of the Netherlands.”Â
The Churchill statue in Parliament Square is vandalized in the early hours of the morning with red paint and anti-Israel slogans including “Zionist war criminal”, “Stop the Genocide”, “Never again is Now,” “Globalise the Intifada,” and what appears to be “Greetings from the Hague” in Dutch on Feb. 27, 2026, in London. (Guy Smallman/Getty Images)
He identifies himself as “part of a Dutch action group called Free the Filton 24 NL,” explaining, “I’ve come to the United Kingdom to deface statue of one of history’s most well-known war criminals, Winston Churchill.”
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