LONDON: In an apparent protest, a man scaled the front of the Broadcasting House, BBC’s headquarters in London and hit a controversial statue with a hammer.
There’ve been calls for Eric Gill’s Prospero and Ariel statue to be removed because a sculptor recorded sexually abusing his daughters in his diaries. It was the second time the 1930s work at BBC has been hit.
Another protester took a hammer to it last year, and harm from that incident is still being repaired. The Metropolitan Police said it was called on Saturday to reports of the man who had climbed scaffolding and who destructed a sculpture.
A spokesman added: “It hasn’t been possible to safely detain the person given the situation of the occasion, including the height. “Specialist officers have been called to the scene.”
The man could be seen leaning against a few scaffoldings while wearing the Spiderman mask and shouting at the police officer.
A police cordon is in the area, with parts of Regent Street and the front of New Broadcasting House taped off.
The BBC entrance was temporarily closed on May 9 while repairs were made to the sculpture.
