Arrests over attack on controversial sculpture

Two men have been arrested for attacking a controversial sculpture by paedophile artist Eric Gill.

One spent hours bashing the artwork outside BBC Broadcasting House in central London with a hammer while the other filmed him. No charges have yet been brought, Metropolitan Police say.

Campaigners have called for the statue, which features a naked child, to be removed but the BBC reportedly plans to keep it.

The incident follows a not guilty verdict for the Colston Four, who argued toppling the infamous statue in Bristol was justified because its continued presence constituted a hate crime or act of abuse.

Ash Sarkar, a contributing editor for Novara Media, wrote on Twitter that Gill's statue "has less in common with Colston than it does the ongoing veneration of abusers in the art world".