‘I am not Banksy’

Bill Gannon insists that he is not Banksy, the popular and expensive street artist. That is a claim most of us could make. But Mr Gannon, a community artist by trade, is also a councillor for the pleasant and historic town of Pembroke Dock. The nearest to Pembroke Dock a Banksy was ever painted was 70 miles away at Port Talbot. In any case, Mr Gannon donned a badge saying: “I am not Banksy.” It was to no avail. Continued allegations of his being Banksy became so troublesome that he did “the decent thing” to “protect the reputation of the town” and sent his resignation to the town clerk. You might think that being taken for an admired artist would do a councillor no harm. But in operation was the opposite experience to that of the Kirk Douglas character in the film, when his fellow slaves all declare: “I am Spartacus!”