New Banksy artwork to be removed from Royal Courts of Justice after report of criminal damage

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A new Banksy artwork that has sprung up at the Royal Courts of Justice will be removed, HM Courts and Tribunals has said, with police confirming it has been reported to them as criminal damage.

The latest piece shows a judge in a wig and gown appearing to use a gavel – a small hammer used by auctioneers rather than judges in the UK – to beat a protester who is lying on the ground holding a blood-spattered placard.

The work was first seen on Monday on an external wall of the Queen’s Building, part of the Royal Courts of Justice complex.

It has since been concealed by large sheets of black plastic and two metal barriers.

Met Police said it had been reported to them as criminal damage.

They said: “On Monday, 8 September, officers received a report of criminal damage to the side of the Royal Courts of Justice. Inquiries continue.”

The elusive artist confirmed he was responsible for the work with an Instagram post, showing the graffiti before it was covered over.

Banksy, whose identity is the source of constant speculation, captioned the pictures: “Royal Courts Of Justice. London.”

A HM Courts and Tribunals spokesperson said it will be removed in accordance with rules about listed buildings.

They said: “The Royal Courts of Justice is a listed building and HMCTS are obliged to maintain its original character.”

The artwork is being guarded by security officials outside the building and is under a CCTV camera.

His stencilled graffiti is often a comment on political issues, and many of his pieces are critical of government policy, war and capitalism.

The latest work comes after almost 900 demonstrators were arrested for protesting in central London on Saturday against the banning of Palestine Action as a terror group.

Several other people have previously been charged with allegedly expressing support for the group, which was proscribed under anti-terror laws by the then home secretary, Yvette Cooper, earlier this year.

It makes membership of, or support for, the direct action group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison, while even wearing a T-shirt or badge with the group’s name on could attract a maximum six-month sentence.

The ban came shortly after two Voyager aircraft suffered around £7m worth of damage at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on 20 June.

Defence Secretary John Healey told Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that he expects newly appointed Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to be “just as tough” as her predecessor Ms Cooper on Palestine Action.

He said: “I expect her to defend the decision the government has taken to proscribe Palestine Action because of what some of its members are responsible for, and were planning for.”

Responding to Banksy’s work, a spokesperson for campaign group Defend Our Juries, which was behind Saturday’s rally, said it “powerfully depicts the brutality unleashed by Yvette Cooper on protesters by proscribing Palestine Action”.

They said: “When the law is used as a tool to crush civil liberties, it does not extinguish dissent, it strengthens it.

“As Banksy’s artwork shows, the state can try to strip away our civil liberties, but we are too many in number and our resolve to stand against injustice cannot be beaten – our movement against the ban is unstoppable and growing every day.”

Other notable works by Banksy included an animal-themed collection in the capital last summer, which concluded with a gorilla appearing to lift up a shutter on the entrance to London Zoo.

There have also been piranhas swimming in a police sentry box in the City of London, turning the box into what looked like a giant fish tank, and a howling wolf on a satellite dish.

That latter piece was taken off the roof of a shop in Peckham, south London, less than an hour after it was unveiled.

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