0h 2min, feb 27, 2026 y - Arrest as Churchill Statue Defaced

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The man detained on suspicion of defacing the statue of Sir Winston Churchill in Parliament Square has been further arrested on suspicion of supporting Palestine Action, police have said.

It is thought to be the first such arrest since the High Court ruled the government's ban on the group under anti-terrorism legislation as unlawful.

The ban has remained in place pending any eventual government appeal. On Thursday the Home Office was given permission to appeal.

The bronze statue was defaced with red graffiti branding the former prime minister a "Zionist war criminal". Other phrases including "Stop the Genocide" and "Free Palestine" were sprayed on the sculpture in Westminster, central London.

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