BOJO’S STATUE ANGER
BORIS Johnson blasted the “absurd and shameful” boarding up of Sir Winston Churchill’s statue and the Cenotaph in London last night.
The PM said Black Lives Matter protests had been hijacked by extremists looking for “deliberate and calculated” violence.
Fears are growing of fierce clashes today despite an official event in Hyde Park being axed over safety fears. Security has been ramped up after busloads of far-right groups vowed to travel to the capital to protect monuments.
Police fear tensions could boil over if any statues are defaced. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was “extremely worried” and begged people not to attend events. But thousands are expected to ignore the pleas.
A protective box encases the statue of Churchill in Parliament Square and scaffolding has been placed around the Cenotaph after the iconic monuments were targeted last weekend.
Tyranny
Mr Johnson said Churchill’s figure was “a permanent reminder of his achievement in saving this country – and the whole of Europe – from a fascist and racist tyranny”.
He added: “It is absurd and shameful that this national monument should today be at risk of attack by violent protesters.”
Statues of Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi are also being boarded up along with King Charles I, Robert Clive, King James II and George Washington.
A statue of Scout founder Robert Badenpowell was boarded up in Poole, Dorset, as was a statue of former prime minister Robert Peel in Tamworth, Staffs.
Road signs in Liverpool’s famous Penny Lane were vandalised after speculation the street was named after a slave trader.
Four signs on the road, immortalised by The Beatles song, were spray-painted over with the word “racist”.