British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday it was "absurd and shameful" that a statue of Winston Churchill was at risk of attack by protesters, some of whom daubed the words "was a racist" at an earlier anti-racism demonstration.
"It is absurd and shameful that this national monument should today be at risk of attack by violent protesters," the British leader wrote on Twitter.
Boris Jonhson Condemns Churchill Statue Incident
"Yes, he sometimes expressed opinions that were and are unacceptable to us today, but he was a hero, and he fully deserves his memorial. We cannot now try to edit or censor our past. We cannot pretend to have a different history," he said, calling on people to avoid protests planned this weekend.