Zack Polanski refuses to condemn 'appalling desecration' of Winston Churchill statue

The motion, introduced by the Conservatives, read: "This assembly wishes to condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the appalling desecration of the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square."

It went on to state that the assembly condemns the language graffitied on the statue of the wartime Prime Minister.

The monument had been sprayed with orange paint alongside phrases including "Zionist war criminal", "stop the genocide", "free Palestine", and "globalise the Intifada".

Mr Polanski’s fellow Green Party members in the London Assembly, Zoe Garbett and Caroline Russell, also voted against the motion.

"Non-violent direct action has always been a legitimate and necessary part of democratic political life," Ms Garbett said.

The 12-foot-tall sculpture has since undergone restoration after the vandalism, with specialists using blowtorches and paint brushes to remove the damage.

Caspar San Giorgio, 38, has been arrested and charged with criminal damage, which he denies.

Conservatives also introduced a separate motion welcoming the "removal" of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after the now-deceased Iranian supreme leader was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

The motion stated that Iranian citizens now had their "strongest chance in decades" to escape from a "brutal regime".

The three Green members of the London Assembly also voted against the measure, a move Conservative assembly member Emma Best branded a disgrace.

She said: "The supreme leader and his regime terrorised the people of Iran and its enemies across the world.

"It is not controversial to join Iranians, here and abroad, in welcoming the end of that regime.

"It is sinister that the principles of the Green Party leadership can so easily sway from what is morally right."

Dutch group Free the Filton 24 claimed responsibility for the action, posting a video on Instagram that appeared to show the incident in progress.

A spokesman for the Greater London Authority said: "We are appalled by this vandalism to the statue of Sir Winston Churchill and work is under way to remove the graffiti as quickly as possible."

A Downing Street spokesman said at the time that the vandalism was "obviously a disgrace" and "abhorrent".

The spokesman added: "This Government will always stand up for our values, and the perpetrator must be held to account.

"We’re glad the police have made an arrest."

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