A 38-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage, UK police said, after pro-Palestinian graffiti was sprayed on a Winston Churchill statue in central London. The iconic monument to the World War II British prime minister in Parliament Square "was graffitied with red paint" overnight, the Metropolitan Police said on X.

"Officers were on scene within two minutes of being alerted shortly after 4am (0400 GMT)," the force said. The graffiti, which workers were cleaning early Friday, called the wartime leader a "zionist war criminal". The words "free Palestine" and "stop the genocide" were also sprayed on the statue.

The man detained was also held on suspicion of supporting Palestine Action, a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act, police added. The Greater London Authority condemned the "vandalism" and said work was underway to remove the graffiti "as quickly as possible". Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office called the damage "completely abhorrent" and said it was "glad" police had made an arrest. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)