Banksy's "Royal Courts of Justice"
It took courthouse administrators less than two days to remove Banksy’s latest stencil mural of a judge attacking a protester, which appeared in central London early this week. But what remains of the artwork is a shadowy stain, eerily reminiscent of a hooded Grim Reaper wielding a scythe, that has captured widespread attention in its own right.
The saga began on Monday morning, September 8, when the mural was seen on the exterior of the Royal Courts of Justice just days after police arrested nearly 900 people at a protest in support of Palestinian activists. The striking image — a judge in a wig and robes raising a gavel high above his head, looming over a cowering protester holding a blood-spattered placard — was claimed by the famously elusive British artist in his signature style of sharing photos on Instagram.
The post made no mention of the mass arrests that had occurred over the weekend, but unlike some of Banksy’s more ambiguous works, like a stencil of a lighthouse back in May, this one needed no explanation: It was an unequivocal, sharp rebuke of government censorship, and Banksy’s followers responded with praise.
Within hours, the mural was hidden from view. By the end of the day, the HM Courts and Tribunals, the government agency that manages courts in England and Wales, made the decision to remove the work, claiming that it was a matter of preserving the building’s “original character” as a registered historical structure. Videos posted to social media yesterday, September 10, showed a worker using a handlebrush to scrub off the painting.
The mural’s erasure has now seemingly become part of the artwork itself, serving as an apt metaphor for the widespread government crackdowns on protests for Palestine around the world, as users pointed out.
“This is an incredible piece of performance art, driving home the message Banksy was suggesting with 10000 times more impact,” one Instagram commenter wrote beneath a video of the scrubbing. The Irish rap trio Kneecap, known for their pro-Palestinian advocacy, also emphasized the symbolism of the mural’s erasure in the context of Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza. “You can’t wash away genocide….your complicity will always remain,” the group wrote on X.
Words by Maya Pontone / Hyperallergic
A painting by Banksy after being partially removed from a wall of the Royal Courts of Justice on September 11, 2025 in London, England (photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
The mural before it was scrubbed (screenshot Maya Pontone/Hyperallergic via @Banksy on Instagram)
