Lisa Nandy to consider new legislation to protect Britain's monuments after vandal who 'desecrated' Winston Churchill statue is cleared

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Olax Outis was cleared of criminal damage after Tuesday's jury trial at Southwark Crown Court

Lisa Nandy has confirmed she will consider new legislation to protect the country's monuments after the "desecration" of the statue of Winston Churchill.

Speaking to GB News, the Culture Secretary declared the nation's "culture and heritage belongs to us" and should not be "defaced" by people on the left or the right.

The pledge comes after a Dutch activist who defaced Winston Churchill’s statue in London was found not guilty of criminal damage.

Olax Outis, who also goes by the name of Caspar San Giorgio, climbed the statue in London's Parliament Square in February and sprayed the words 'Free Palestine' and 'Zionist war criminal' on the monument of the former Prime Minister.

However, San Giorgio denied that his actions amounted to criminal damages because he was sending a message to Parliament, and that the paint could be washed off.

Despite being cleared of criminal damage, the cleaning of the statue cost £7,000, including hire of police barriers at £612 plus VAT and emergency graffiti clean and restoration at £6,504 plus VAT.

Pressing Ms Nandy on the incident, host Alex Armstrong asked the Culture Secretary whether the Government would introduce legislation to "protect our national landmarks against this kind of violence".

She told GB News: "I will definitely look at that to see what we need to do to protect our national monuments and our heritage and our our landmarks from being defaced.

"We've seen that not just from the far left, but from the far right as well. We've seen the desecration of Jewish cemeteries and other appalling acts."

Ms Nandy agreed that Britain's "great art and great culture" belongs to Britons and should be protected.

She said: "And look, I agree with you. I think great art, great culture, great heritage belongs to all of us. I don't think people should be defacing it.

"We've also seen these sort of incidents occurring in art galleries as well, and it is something that as a Government, we take very seriously."

Turning to the country's migrant crisis, Ms Nandy was quizzed on the Oxfordshire village of Piddington after holding a symbolic independence referendum on Tuesday.

Asked whether the Government will "listen to the taxpayers and voters in Piddington", Ms Nandy made clear it is "fair and right" that they express their views.

She said: "I do get it, I really do. In my constituency in Wigan, we've had real issues with asylum hotels being opened overnight without any notice and people not being consulted, not being informed, and it's caused some serious challenges.

"But I guess what I would say to the people of Piddington is I think it's absolutely right and fair that they express their views, and I think it's absolutely right that the Government listens to those views."

Defending the Government's efforts to tackle illegal migration, the Labour minister made clear that they are "pulling every lever at our disposal" to stop small boat crossings.

She told GB News: "We are pulling every lever at our disposal to clear the asylum backlog that we inherited, to get small boat crossings down, which were down this summer for the first time, and to get a grip on the asylum chaos that we was developed under the Conservative Government.

"And there are communities across the country, including mine in Wigan, many working class communities where they were asked to take more than their fair share of asylum seekers, whether it's through hotels or HMOs. That's something that a lot of political parties have had things to say about."

Ms Nandy concluded: "It's something that I, as a local MP, have had things to say about, and we do need to make sure that while we're getting a grip on this chaos that we inherited, that we do make sure that there are all communities are doing their bit in order to take people, many of whom will be fleeing persecution, will need a safe haven in Britain.

"We've always been the sort of country that steps up when we're needed, and I do think that using military bases is a better option than taking over a whole streets, in some cases, of properties where people overnight go from knowing their neighbours to not knowing their neighbours, the population becoming very transient and it causes serious challenges for those communities."