Banksy’s Brutal New London Artwork Removed After Social Media Outcry
Controversial new Banksy artwork depicting a judge with a gavel over a protester appeared at London's Royal Courts of Justice, sparking debate before swift removal by authorities.
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A fresh work by the elusive British street artist and activist Banksy briefly appeared this week on the exterior of London’s Royal Courts of Justice before being swiftly covered in black plastic and cordoned off by security guards. The mural, showing a wigged judge in black robes raising a gavel over a prone protester holding a blank sign stained with red paint, was interpreted online as a biting critique of police crackdowns on pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
The timing was not lost on observers: the piece emerged just two days after nearly 900 demonstrators were arrested in London protests against the government’s restrictions on social media platforms.
Officials moved quickly to block public access. A spokesperson for His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service told the BBC that “the Royal Courts of Justice is a protected heritage site, and the service is obliged to preserve its original character.” The mural, they confirmed, will be removed.
On social media, the cover-up itself went viral. One account, Grifty, mocked the move: “One hour after Banksy mocked the courts for censoring people, the courts censored his mural. It proves his point.”
Banksy, whose identity remains secret, confirmed authorship by posting the mural on Instagram with the caption “Royal Courts of Justice. London.” It joins a long list of politically charged works that have taken aim at war, capitalism, government power, and repeatedly, the Israeli–Hamas conflict.
Banksy’s history of pro-Palestinian activism is well documented. In 2005 he painted nine large murals on Israel’s West Bank separation barrier, including images of windows opening to blue skies and children digging tunnels to freedom. Two years later, he joined 15 street artists in Bethlehem to paint scenes such as a girl frisking a soldier and a peace dove in a flak jacket. In 2016, he opened the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem, a satirical boutique hotel overlooking the barrier, filled with his art critiquing Israel’s presence in the West Bank.
The Royal Courts mural lasted only hours before being hidden from public view, yet its message is already reverberating online, drawing debate over censorship, protest, and the uneasy role of the justice system in Britain’s current unrest.