LONDON: British campaign group Led By Donkeys has received tens of thousands of pounds in compensation after a banner it displayed in support of Palestine was destroyed by authorities.
The group received £27,216 ($49,000) from Veolia, the environment services company that destroyed the giant banner that was displayed in London’s Parliament Square reading: “Yes It’s A Genocide.”
The 40-by-40-meter banner was seized by Greater London Authority officials after it was unfurled in December 2024.
Led By Donkeys carried out a 19-month campaign to have it returned but was met with refusals by the GLA, which later told the group that it had transferred the banner to Veolia and it was subsequently destroyed.
Legal letters were sent on behalf of Led By Donkeys demanding compensation from either the GLA or Veolia. The latter agreed to pay £27,216.
Led By Donkeys co-founder Ben Steward said: “The Parliament Square banner was in collaboration with one of the world’s leading genocide scholars, but still the authorities threw process out the window and simply seized and destroyed our property.
“Pursuing compensation was never about the money, it was about defending space to protest Israel’s war crimes.
“Palestine protests are treated differently in Britain to all other forms of activism. Direct action is regarded as terrorism and words on a placard are rendered illegal.
“Over the years we’ve delivered banners, put up billboards and done guerrilla projections across the country, but the only time our equipment has been seized and destroyed was when it related to Palestine.”
On the day of the banner’s unfurling, the giant statement was shot from the air, with a film being created that was posted on social media.
It featured renowned Israeli genocide scholar Prof. Amos Goldberg, who delivered a voiceover containing the same words as the banner.
Last September, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry found that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza and that Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had incited these acts.
