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Banksy confirms authorship of new statue in central London

Banksy has confirmed he is behind a new statue installed in Waterloo Place, London, depicting a suited man striding off a plinth with a flag covering his face. The work, unveiled on April 29, has drawn crowds and is set to remain in place, according to Westminster City Council.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 outlets · 3 articles Version 1 Coverage May 1–5, 2026 Published Aug 14

Banksy confirms authorship of new statue in central London

Banksy has confirmed he is the artist behind a new statue that appeared in central London, according to multiple reports. The elusive street artist posted a video on his Instagram account showing the installation of the work under the cover of darkness, as reported by Al Jazeera, the South China Morning Post (SCMP), and TASS.

The sculpture, located in Waterloo Place in the Westminster area, depicts a man in a business suit striding forward while holding a flag that covers his face. The figure appears unaware that his left foot is already hanging over the edge of the plinth, as described by TASS and SCMP. Banksy's name is scrawled on the base of the monument, according to SCMP.

The work was unveiled on April 29, according to TASS, near monuments to King Edward VII, Florence Nightingale, and the Crimean War memorial. It stands on a traffic island just off Pall Mall, a spot where Banksy said "there was a bit of a gap," as quoted by a spokeswoman for the artist in a statement reported by SCMP.

Coverage Comparison

Coverage of the statue has been consistent across outlets, with Al Jazeera, SCMP, and TASS all confirming Banksy's authorship and describing the sculpture's appearance and location. Al Jazeera focused on the overnight installation and the video shared by the artist. SCMP highlighted the statue's placement and the artist's confirmation via Instagram. TASS provided additional detail on the council's response and the statue's reception, noting that it has become a "pilgrimage site" for fans and tourists, though this characterization appears only in TASS's reporting.

Key Claims

Banksy confirmed authorship by posting a video of the installation on Instagram, as reported by TASS and SCMP.
The sculpture's location is Waterloo Place, London, verified by Al Jazeera, TASS, and SCMP.
The unveiling date was April 29, according to TASS.
Westminster City Council will not remove the statue, stating it will remain accessible for the public, as quoted by TASS.
The statue has drawn crowds of fans and tourists, with people gathering to take photos, per TASS's report.

Perspectives

The statue has been interpreted with political overtones. TASS noted that The Daily Telegraph published a cartoon depicting Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the style of Banksy's work, heading toward defeat in upcoming regional elections while carrying the Labour Party flag. However, Banksy himself has not specified any political meaning, and TASS reported that the artist did not dedicate the work to any particular cause or individual.

Westminster City Council welcomed the sculpture, calling it "a striking addition to the city's vibrant public art scene" in a statement quoted by TASS. The council added that initial steps have been taken to protect the statue, but it will remain accessible for now.

Banksy's identity remains officially unconfirmed, though TASS cited a Reuters report from March 2026 that named Robin Gunningham as the artist's birth name, with a later adoption of the pseudonym David Jones. This claim, however, has not been independently verified by other outlets in this coverage.

How each outlet told it

South China Morning Post as of May 1, 2026, 3:15 AM UTC

Framing: Banksy confirms new work in London — Informative

Facts Included:

Banksy confirmed he was behind the new work
The statue is of a suited man striding into the void while holding a flag
The monument has Banksy's name scrawled on the base
The statue appeared on a traffic island in Pall Mall

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TASS — English as of May 1, 2026, 10:45 AM UTC

Framing: Banksy confirms authorship of new statue — Informative

Facts Included:

Banksy posted a video showing the installation of the statue
The statue is in Waterloo Place, London
The sculpture was unveiled on April 29
Westminster City Council does not intend to remove the statue
Banksy's real identity and pseudonyms

Read the source article →

TASS — English as of May 5, 2026, 5:45 PM UTC

Framing: Banksy's statue becomes a tourist attraction — Descriptive

Facts Included:

The statue has become a pilgrimage site for fans and tourists
The sculpture depicts a man in a business suit striding forward with a flag
The flag covers the man's face, and he appears unaware of his surroundings
The statue is near monuments to King Edward VII, Florence Nightingale, and the Crimean War memorial
Banksy's real identity and pseudonyms

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimThe sculpture is located in Waterloo Place, London.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from TASS — English as of May 1, 2026, 10:45 AM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimThe sculpture was unveiled on April 29 near monuments to King Edward VII, Florence Nightingale, and the Crimean War memorial.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from TASS — English as of May 1, 2026, 10:45 AM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimWestminster City Council does not intend to remove the statue.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from TASS — English as of May 1, 2026, 10:45 AM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimBanksy posted a video showing the installation of the statue.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from TASS — English as of May 1, 2026, 10:45 AM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimThe statue has become a pilgrimage site for fans and tourists.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 5, 2026, 5:45 PM UTC
ClaimBanksy's real identity is Robin Gunningham, and he later adopted the pseudonym David Jones.	ConfidenceLow	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 1, 2026, 10:45 AM UTC
ClaimThe statue is of a suited man striding into the void while holding a flag that blocks his view.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South China Morning Post as of May 1, 2026, 3:15 AM UTC
ClaimThe monument has Banksy's name scrawled on the base and is positioned on a traffic island in Pall Mall.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South China Morning Post as of May 1, 2026, 3:15 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

3 outlets · 4 articles consulted: Al Jazeera, South China Morning Post, TASS — English 9 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-14