Starmer removes Churchill portraits from Parliament as Labour continues assault against greatest Britons

Sir Keir Starmer has removed portraits of Winston Churchill, the Duke of Wellington, and more British heroes from the Houses of Parliament.

Since Labour’s General Election victory last summer, the Prime Minister has axed drawings, photographs and prints of historical British political leaders and monarchs.

As many as five images of Churchill have been removed from parts of the parliamentary estate occupied primarily by MPs’ offices, according to a new report in the Telegraph.

One photograph removed from Portcullis House – the main office building for MPs, showed the Second World War leader standing at the Cenotaph in 1945.

Meanwhile, images of the Duke of Wellington – the country’s second most popular PM in history after Churchill, according to YouGov – were removed from display after Labour’s victory.

The portraits comprise part of the Parliamentary Art Collection, which oversees some 10,000 works which MPs can use to decorate their offices.

Back in 2020, the collection was subjected to a probe for “links to slavery and racism” in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests.

The audit was carried out by the cross-party Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art, which compiled a dossier of artworks of historical figures which risked controversy.

MORE ON LABOUR’S ASSAULT ON HISTORY:

• Starmer bins portrait of Margaret Thatcher as he redecorates No10
• Rachel Reeves replaces Thatcher’s Chancellor with COMMUNIST PARTY founder in latest woke Downing Street portrait revamp
• ‘Labour wants to teach children to be ashamed of Britain’s past,’ claims Kemi Badenoch

Portraits of several figures included in the dossier were canned following the election – including five portraits of former PM William Gladstone just days after July 4.

Three portraits of the Duke of Wellington were removed in the week following the election, while anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce also saw his portrait taken down.

Further images of poet John Milton, King Charles I, and a painting of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were all canned after Labour returned to power for the first time in 14 years.

Most of the artworks were removed from the office buildings of Portcullis House, Derby Gate and the Norman Shaw building – which all house MPs’ offices outside the Palace of Westminster

The Telegraph reports the artworks are now in storage.

Though inside the Palace of Westminster itself, several statues and paintings of Churchill remain.

The display and location of art in the Commons is overseen by the Heritage Collections Team and the Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art.