Women of World War II monument vandalised amid anti-austerity protests

A memorial honouring the role of women in the Second World War was vandalised as demonstrators against government cuts clashed with police in central London on Saturday.

The statue in Whitehall was daubed with red paint. One police officer was injured in what Scotland Yard described as an “unplanned anti-austerity protest”.

The road was closed as dozens of protesters shouted anti-Tory chants near Downing Street.

A police spokesman said: “Four people have been arrested for a variety of offences under the Public Order Act, 1986. Officers are aware of criminal damage to the Women’s War Memorial in Whitehall and are investigating.”

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