The London Assembly has today
condemned the appalling criminal damage to the statue of Sir
Winston Churchill in Parliament Square.
On 27 February, the statue was targeted with graffiti, including
'Zionist War Criminal', 'Stop The Genocide' and 'Free Palestine'.
The Assembly agreed a motion today, calling on
the Mayor to instruct the Met to use its resources to protect the
site from further criminal damage, and to raise the Assembly's
concerns with the Met Commissioner.
AM,
who proposed the motion, said:
“Sir Winston Churchill is a national hero, who served our
country in its hour of need and ensured the freedoms we richly
enjoy today.
“I wholeheartedly condemn the defacing of his statue in
Parliament Square and thank the police for their swift
action.
“But we must prevent this happening again - and that is why I
am pleased the Assembly has supported my motion calling on the
Mayor to instruct the Met to use its necessary resources to
protect these sites of national importance.”
The full text of the motion is:
This Assembly wishes to condemn, in the strongest possible terms,
the appalling desecration of the statue of Sir Winston Churchill
in Parliament Square on 27 February 2026.
The immense contribution of Sir Winston Churchill as one of this
country's greatest Britons, defending and securing the freedoms
we enjoy today, is proudly noted by this Assembly.
The Assembly wishes to condemn the appalling language graffitied
onto a statue of great national importance, including: 'Zionist
War Criminal', 'Stop The Genocide' and 'Free Palestine'.
While the Assembly wishes to note the arrest of a man on
suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage by Metropolitan
Police Service officers, it is incredibly concerning that this
brazen criminality occurred at a symbolic site of national
significance that is managed by the Greater London Authority
(GLA).
Given this location is one of the most heavily policed parts of
both London and the country, sitting directly opposite Parliament
and a short distance from the Met's headquarters, the occurrence
of this despicable criminality raises a number of broader
security concerns.
The Assembly, therefore, calls on the Mayor to:
- Instruct the Metropolitan Police Service to use its
resources to protect this site of national importance and
ensure this despicable criminality cannot occur again.
- Raise this Assembly's concerns on the security implications
of this criminality directly with the Met Commissioner and
request that the Commissioner writes to the Assembly to outline
how the Met will prevent a similar event happening again in the
future.
- Consider how the GLA as the manager of the site can further
support the Met.
Notes to editors:
- The Motion was agreed by 17 votes for and 3 against.
