Overnight, a statue of Sir Winston Churchill in Westminster’s Parliament Square was defaced with graffiti including “Zionist war criminal”.
A 38-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated crime.
Metropolitan Police Department officers were alerted to the incident just after 4 a.m. Friday morning.
Other phrases such as “Stop the Genocide” and “Liberate Palestine” were sprayed with red paint on the bronze statue.
The graffiti also read “Never Now Again” and “Globalize the Intifada.”
The statue has been sealed off and was being cleaned this morning.
Commenting on an image shared on This extremism is by no means just a threat to Jews. ”
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The 12-foot-tall statue in the northeast corner of the square was created by Ivor Roberts-Jones and unveiled in 1973 by the former Prime Minister’s wife, Lady Clementine Churchill.
It is one of 12 statues in or around Parliament Square, most of them of famous politicians such as Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln.
The former prime minister’s statue has been vandalized several times over the years, including during demonstrations.
In December last year, the Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police announced that anyone shouting “Globalize the Intifada” would be arrested.
The decision by both police forces follows the Bondi Beach terror attack and the October 2 terror attack at Manchester’s Heaton Park Synagogue.