Sadiq Khan has been criticised for supposedly 'blocking' a statue of the late Queen in favour of 'woke' artwork that pays tribute to 'trans sex workers'.
The Mayor of London has signed off on the empty fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square to be filled with works of art until the end of the decade.
Last month the Labour Mayor approved £1million of taxpayers' money to fund the installations in 2026 and 2028.
Campaigners had been hoping for a statue of the late monarch to be erected on the vacant plinth instead.
Campaigners had been hoping for a statue of the late monarch to be erected on the vacant plinth
PA/Getty
But the latest news means that any potential statue of Queen Elizabeth II would not be able to be erected until at least 2030.
The first piece which is due to go up in August and will be in place for six months will feature 850 faces of trans people who were mostly sex workers.
The piece is called Improntas and was the winning entry from the 2024 commission.
According to the official description, the installation will not just depict the faces of trans sex workers, but will also be "infused with their hair and skin cells” and left to “deteriorate” by the weather.
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The installation of the trans faces that will go on the fourth plinth
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Trans people were invited to participate and cast their faces, with most being "marginalised" sex workers.
In a YouGov poll conducted when the art piece was first shortlisted in 2021, 23 per cent of Londoners approved of it, while 42 per cent said they disliked it.
It cost £170,000 to produce, including a £30,000 artist's fee, which is paid by taxpayers' money.
The Tories slammed Khan for the latest installation, which they claim blocked the opportunity to erect a statue in tribute to the late Queen.
The current artwork on the fourth plinth
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A Tory source said: "Susan has committed to working with the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee and the Royal Family to offer a permanent memorial to the late Queen on Fourth Plinth.
"The Improntas sculpture and any future commissions would have to be moved to accommodate that."
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: "The Mayor wants to ensure we have a fitting memorial to our longest serving monarch.
"He supports the creation of the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee, which is being supported by the Royal Household and chaired by the former Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II.
"The Mayor stands ready to support the recommendations of the committee, whatever they are.”