A new artwork by Banksy outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London has been reported to police as criminal damage.
The mural, spotted on Monday, shows a protester lying on the ground holding a blood-spattered placard, while the judge looms over him wielding a gavel.
In a statement the Metropolitan Police confirmed that on Monday, 8 September, the force received a report of criminal damage, and that “inquiries continue”.
Police involvement has sparked media speculation that Banksy’s identity could finally be revealed if the elusive street musician is arrested and brought before a court.
However, a criminal defence lawyer has told Yahoo News that with an apparent lack of “reliable third-rave evidence”, identifying Banksy and bringing the musician before a court would be a “task almost impossible”.
The Banksy artwork on the side of the Royal Courts of Justice was soon covered up. (Getty Images)
Even Banksy confirming the work is his through a post on Instagram and on his website, wouldn’t be enough on its own, he added.
Within hours of its appearance, the piece of art, painted below a CCTV lens on an external wall of the complex’s Queen’s Building, was covered up – concealed by large sheets of black plastic and two metal barriers.
The graffiti, guarded by security officials, was expected to be removed on Tuesday from the building, which is listed and therefore legally protected.
Does this mean Banksy’s identity could be revealed?
Assuming Banksy has been careful not to leave forensic evidence at the scene, Stuart Nolan, chairman of the Law Society’s Criminal Law Committee, believes the odds are not in the police’s favour.
“They’d have to find somebody who they said did it, and that, for the investigation of this matter, is a bit of a conundrum,” he told Yahoo News.
“Because, you know, who is Banksy… If it is Banksy? Is it somebody mimicking Banksy? Is Banksy one person, is Banksy a committee?
“Does Banksy’s rotate so that, you know, ‘Thursday I’m Banksy, next Thursday Mr B’s Banksy, or Mrs A’s Banksy?’
The new work by Banksy on the side of the Royal Courts of Justice in London. (PA)
“In order to get a case in front of any court, you have to have a perpetrator or a group of perpetrators. So, at some stage somebody either has got to come forward and say, ‘Yes, I did that, arrest me’.”
Alternatively, police would have to track Banksy down with sufficient evidence to identify them, Nolan says.
“There seems to be no CCTV, even if there was, could you actually define who that was from it? Somebody would have to give a name,” Nolan said.
“Who is going to ring up the Met and say, ‘listen, I know who he is’? If anybody wants to cause the Met some headache, multiple people could ring up and give a load of names… They’d have to investigate it, technically.”
Even if police did get past this first hurdle and brought someone in for questioning, the criminal defence lawyer says it would be a “complex process” tying that name to Banksy’s identity.
“Often with crimes that are prosecuted, most of the work for the police is done by people admitting it, really.”
A man lies on his front to catch a glimpse of the artwork. (Alamy)
Considering that Banksy makes money off books, artwork, t-shirts and other merchandise, Nolan says “somebody knows him”, but suggests it would be hard for police to force a name out of them.
“Say I was Banksy’s lawyer, and police came to me and said, ‘tell me who they are’. I’d say, ‘I’m sorry, that’s confidential information. I’m sorry, I can’t provide that’. What are they going to do? Put me in thumb screws?”
Nolan said that technically, police could carry out a raid on a property and uncover a mobile phone with messages related to the painting outside the court building.
However, with the “absence of more evidence”, it’s difficult to see how there’d be reasonable cause to justify a warrant for this, he added.
“From a policing point of view, I think it’s a task almost impossible, it seems to me.”
What other art by Banksy has been taken down?
In August 2024, the Bristol-based street musician took over the capital with nine animal-themed works in nine days, which concluded with a mural of a gorilla appearing to lift up a shutter at the entrance to London Zoo.
A gorilla artwork by musician Banksy at London Zoo in August 2024. (Getty Images)
These included piranhas swimming on a police sentry box in the City of London, turning the box into what looked like a giant fish tank, a pelican stooping to scoop up a fish on the sign of Bonner’s Fish Bar in Walthamstow.
The work also included a howling wolf on a satellite dish, which was taken off the roof of a shop in Peckham, south London, less than an hour after it was unveiled.
A Banksy piece in Cricklewood, north-west London, was taken down hours after it was unveiled in August 2024. (PA)
Other murals included a rhino seemingly mounting a silver Nissan Micra, two elephant silhouettes with their trunks stretched out towards each other and three monkeys that looked as though they were swinging on a bridge.
Another piece, a stretching cat on an empty, distressed advertising hoarding, was removed in north west London hours after it was unveiled.
Read more: Is Banksy art or graffiti? Here’s what Yahoo readers think
A Banksy artwork depicting pelicans eating fish on the side of Bonners Fish Bar in Walthamstow. (PA)
As ever, there is speculation about Banksy’s identity. Who is he?
Has Banksy’s identity ever been revealed?
No. Over the years, there have been various theories and claims about Banksy’s identity, but none have been confirmed.
Banksy’s intentional anonymity allowed him to operate without facing legal repercussions for his often unauthorised street art, which can be considered vandalism in some jurisdictions.
It also allowed him to operate however he pleased without fear of being followed by fans or the media.
Banksy does not support the sale of his art. (Getty)
The general assumption is he lives in or near Bristol, but other than that, very little is known about him.
In a recording of The Banksy Story, from BBC Radio 4, he described himself as a “painter and decorator” and explained why he also likes to glue works of art to buildings like the Louvre, saying: “You don’t want to get stuck in the same line of work your whole life long, do you?”
What is Banksy’s real name and how has he remained anonymous?
Since emerging onto the scene in the early 1990s, Banksy has sought to keep his identity a mystery, often wearing masks in the rare interviews he does.
He also never reveals the place he will be doing his next artwork, which is often only noticed after members of the public circulate them on social media.
However, in November 2023, it emerged Banksy “revealed” his name in an unearthed BBC interview from 2003.
Former BBC reporter Nigel Wrench interviewed Banksy ahead of his Turf War show in east London and asked if he could include his real name. He queried if the name was Robert Banks, to which he replied: “It’s Robbie.”
The elusive musician’s real identity has never been officially revealed but a 2003 interview shed light on who the real Banksy is. (BBC)
How does Banksy make money?
Banksy generates income through various means, despite his anonymous persona and unconventional approach.
Part of his persona even rejects the concept of “commercial success” and he has in the past encouraged people not to purchase his work.
Banksy has become famous for his distinctive street art. (Getty)
Speaking to Village Voice in 2013, the musician said: “Graffiti art has a hard enough life as it is, before you add hedge fund managers wanting to chop it out and hang it over the fireplace.
“For the sake of keeping all street art where it belongs, I’d encourage people not to purchase anything by anybody, unless it was created for sale in the first place.”
Despite this, he has still likely made a significant sum of money from his work.
Banky’s satirical graffiti has become famous across the world. (Getty)
He has published several books in his time, including best-seller Wall and Piece, and likely generates royalties from that.
Banksy also directed an award-winning documentary called Exit Through The Gift Shop, exploring modern and underground art, which generated more than £3m in profit.
On occasion, Banksy has offered the purchase of some of his art through Pest Control, which is the only way he approves of its sale.
His Cut & Run exhibition in Glasgow attracted about 180,000 visitors during its 10-week show: his first solo show in 14 years.
Where is Banksy from and how much is he worth?
Although it is hard to know where an anonymous musician is from, he rose to fame in the early 1990s with spray-painted murals on walls in Bristol and has stayed connected to the city and surrounding area ever since.
Banksy’s art is all over the world in London, New York City, Paris, Bethlehem and elsewhere.
It is difficult to guess how much the musician is worth, but his creations are estimated to be worth nearly £40m.
The Armed Dove street art by Banksy near the Israeli separation West Bank Wall in Bethlehem. (Getty)
However, this valuation is based on the sale of his art which he has not condoned, and the profits usually go to the people who owned the site where the art was located.
Some of the profits of Banksy’s art may have made its way back to him, but no one knows for sure.
Is Banksy married?
Although never revealed publicly, Banksy fans have identified Joy Millward, who runs a lobby group that campaigns on behalf of charities, as a potential candidate for his wife.
She is married to Robin Gunningham, who has several times been named as the most likely person to be Banksy.
Millward and Gunningham maintain an extremely private life and very little is known about them.
Whether this is a personal choice, or because they are sick of the speculation around supposedly being Banksy and Banksy’s wife, or if Gunningham is in fact Banksy, we may never know.
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