A worker pressure washes graffiti off of a statue of Britains former Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, in central London on February 27, 2026. A 38-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage after graffiti was sprayed on the statue of Winston Churchill, UK police said February 27. The iconic statue of the wartime British Prime Minister in parliament square in central London “was graffitied with red paint” overnight, the Metropolitan Police said on X. (Photo by Brook Mitchell / AFP)
London police said Saturday a man had been charged with criminal damage for defacing a statue of Britain’s World War II prime minister Winston Churchill with pro-Palestinian slogans.
The monument in the central Parliament Square was smeared with red paint early on Friday and “Zionist war criminal” among the slogans written on it.
The Metropolitan Police said Caspar San Giorgio, 38, of no fixed address, was charged early Saturday, some 24 hours after his arrest.
He had been detained within minutes of officers being alerted to the incident, according to the force.
He was due to appear at a London magistrates’ court later Saturday.
The words “free Palestine” and “stop the genocide” were also sprayed on the statue, which workers cleaned off Friday.
The incident prompted Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office to call the damage “completely abhorrent” and commend police for the swift arrest.
“Churchill was a great Briton,” a spokesman said.
The 3.6 metre (12-foot) Churchill statue has been vandalised a number of times in recent years, including during Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion climate demonstrations in 2020.
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