A statue of George IV has been daubed with pro-Palestinian graffiti following protests in London at the weekend.
Free Palestine has been scrawled twice on the base of the Trafalgar Square monument, which depicts the king on horseback in Roman dress.
Some 30,000 people attended a march in support of Palestine on Saturday that was marred by anti-Semitic chanting.
It comes as fighting continues between the Israel Defence Forces and Hamas following the massacre of hundreds of Israeli citizens by Hamas terrorists on Oct 7.
A second statue nearby, of Charles I on horseback, was draped in a Palestinian flag.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “There is no trace that this matter has been reported to police.”
Graffiti was daubed on the base of statue
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Senior Conservative MPs voiced their dismay at the vandalism. Sir John Hayes, the chairman of the influential Common Sense Group of Tory backbenchers, urged ministers to “go further” to ensure statues are protected.
“This is the latest example of the increasing tendency of extremists, militants, thugs and yobs to use whatever method they see fit to pursue their warped protests,” Sir John told The Telegraph.
“The Government has taken action with the Public Order Bill, but we need to go further, and both prohibit these kinds of protests and prosecute people who do this criminal damage. There can be no tolerance of such people, and we need to respond with fearless vigour.”
Nickie Aiken, a deputy Conservative party chairman, added: “Freedom to protest is a long-held British value but that does not mean freedom to undertake criminal damage including graffiti.”
Marco Longhi, the MP for Dudley North, urged police to identify the perpetrators. “It’s vandalism and should be treated as such,” Mr Longhi said.
“Free Palestine” graffiti also appeared outside the Treasury building on Whitehall after the weekend, GB News reported.
A spokesman for the Greater London Authority said: “We are aware of this graffiti and our specialist contractors are on site now working to remove it.”