CHURCHILL FREED Statue sees light of day again
BORIS Johnson has vowed to throw the book at yobs who desecrate war memorials in a crackdown on vandalism attacks.
The Prime Minister’s pledge came as Sir Winston Churchill’s boardedup statue in Parliament Square was uncovered before a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron today.
Tory MPs, backed by Home Secretary Priti Patel, are pushing for a Desecration ofWar Memorials Bill which would deliver much tougher punishments for vandalism.
Their demands follow the toppling of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol and Cenotaph graffiti in London during demonstrations triggered by the death of George Floyd in the US.
Mr Johnson said: “Any incident of vandalism or attack on public property will be met with the full force of the law and perpetrators will be prosecuted.
“And I can also confirm we are looking at new ways in which we may legislate against vandalism of war memorials.”
President Macron is meeting Mr Johnson to mark the 80th anniversary of General Charles de Gaulle’s Second World War broadcast from London urging his country to resist the German occupation of France. It was widely considered to be the origin of the French Resistance.
Mr Macron will have a ceremonial Guard of Honour at Clarence House and a flypast by the RAF’s Red Arrows and their counterpart La Patrouille de France. Four French
Resistance fighters will also receive honorary MBEs.
Surviving “Compagnons” of the Order of Liberation – centenarian Edgard Tupet-Thome, Daniel Bouyjou-Cordier, 99, Hubert Germain, 99, and Pierre Simonet, 98 – played a key role in the Allies’ advance through France after D-Day.
They are being recognised for services to the United Kingdom during the Second World War and will become honorary members of the Order of Chivalry.
Hailing their heroism, Mr Johnson said: “Eighty years ago Charles de Gaulle, the leader of the French Resistance, arrived in London knowing that the values of freedom, tolerance and democracy that Britain and France shared were under threat.
“He pledged that we would stand together to defend those values and protect our citizens from those bent on destroying us.
“The four men we are honouring symbolise the enduring depth and strength of the friendship between our two countries. They are heroes and I am immensely proud that as a nation we are paying tribute to their courage and sacrifice in defending us and the whole world from fascism.”
Mr Johnson said although today’s struggles are different “I have no doubt that – working side by side – the UK and France will continue to rise to every new challenge and seize every opportunity that lies ahead”.
London mayor Sadiq Khan ordered the coverings to be removed from Churchill’s statue for Mr Macron’s visit but monuments to Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi will remain screened.
Lunacy
The statues and the Cenotaph had been boarded up before Saturday’s protests that saw hundreds of farright demonstrators clash with police and Black Lives Matter activists in Whitehall, near the Palace of Westminster and Trafalgar Square.
There were also violent scenes in the capital the previous weekend during a BLM protest. Former prime minister Sir Winston’s statue was daubed with graffiti accusing him of being a racist.
The decision to board up his statue has infuriated Conservative MPs.
Ex-party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: “The moment we surrender to mob rule, that’s the moment the mob takes over.
“We can’t surrender to the mob. That’s exactly what Churchill stood for.”
Ms Patel called the wartime leader a national hero and said it was right that Sir Winston’s statue should be “freed”.
Mr Johnson has called
Sir Winston was one of the country’s greatest leaders and said it was the “height of lunacy” to accuse him of racism.
Mr Khan defended his decision to protect the statues, saying it was a wise precaution as they could have become a “flashpoint for violence”.