The statue of Winston Churchill has been restored to its former glory after being graffitied with pro-Gaza messages.
Blowtorches and paint brushes were used to clean the statue which stands in Parliament Square Garden.
The 12-foot-tall sculpture of the former Prime Minister was sprayed with messages which read “stop the genocide”, “free Palestine”, and “globalise the intifada”.
A man has since been charged with criminal damage, which he denies, after being arrested at 4am on Friday.
Caspar San Giorgio, 38, appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday to enter his plea.
The statue he is accused of damaging is worth £11,970, the court heard.
When asked to confirm his name, he initially said it was Olax Outis – but his lawyer clarified his name was Caspar San Giorgio on his passport.
He was remanded in custody and will next appear at Southwark Crown Court on March 30.
PICTURED: Cleaners attend to the statue of the legendary PM on Parliament Square
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PICTURED: A worker sprays down the Churchill statue to remove graffiti
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Reform UK was happy to see the statue, unveiled in 1973, cleaned.
A party spokesman said it was “great to see the Churchill statue being cleaned up today after it was vandalised”.
A Downing Street spokesman said the graffiti was “completely abhorrent”.
WINSTON CHURCHILL IN THE HEADLINES – READ MORE:
Workers are continuing restoration using a blowtorch after the majority of paint has been removed
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The statue had messages reading ‘free Palestine’ and ‘stop the genocide’
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“Churchill was a great Briton. This Government will always stand up for our values and the perpetrator must be held to account,” it added.
The monument to the former Prime Minister has been vandalised before.
In 2020, Black Lives Matter protesters sprayed messages on the sculpture accusing the World War-winning PM of being a racist.
Later that year, an Extinction Rebellion activist was ordered to pay more than £1,500 after painting “racist” on its plinth.
Before being cleaned, the statue was covered with messages, including one in Dutch which reads ‘Greeting from the Hague’
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In a statement, a Home Office spokesman said: “Sir Winston Churchill is a figure of great national pride. The vile vandals defacing this statue are a disgrace.
“The Metropolitan Police have taken swift action to arrest the perpetrator, and the statue of Sir Winston will be restored back to its original glory.”
The statue is one of 12 in Parliament Square which includes fellow historic world leaders such as former US President Abraham Lincoln, South African President and campaigner Nelson Mandela, and Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi.