Public authorities across London have spent an estimated £175,000 (€175,000) on the removal, protection and management of three works by the anonymous street artist since 2024, according to data obtained by the BBC through Freedom of Information requests. The total is set to rise as officials continue their efforts to remove one of the artist’s last murals from the walls of London’s Royal Courts of Justice, which was painted last year. The work, which depicts a wigged judge hammering a protester, has so far cost the UK Ministry of Justice $67,000 in efforts to remove it, with another £48,000 spent on security and extra staff hours while the work was there. Contractors are now using laser technology after initial attempts to clean it failed. Officials have said replacing the damaged stone could be the next step if those efforts fail.
The mural has reignited a long-running debate over whether Banksy’s actions should be treated as criminal vandalism or as culturally significant public art. Critics, including Nick Timothy, argued that taxpayers should not bear the cost of cleaning up what he described as damage to a national symbol of the rule of law.
Others defended the work, saying that Banksy’s murals attract visitors and make art accessible outside of traditional museums and galleries. The mural in court is just the latest example. In April, Westminster City Council said it had spent about $81,000 on security barriers, protective measures and administrative costs after Banksy secretly placed a sculpture in Waterloo, near Trafalgar Square. The council, which became the legal owner of the sculpture because it is on public land, said it was still considering what to do with the work. Earlier, in August 2024, London removed a police guardhouse that Banksy had transformed into a piranha scene, at a cost of nearly $3,000. Instead of ending up in a landfill, the structure was put in storage and is expected to be on public display when the Museum of London reopens in November.