Here is a fun little stat to digest over your morning cup of tea. Three Banksy artworks have cost UK taxpayers almost £150,000 to clean up, secure, and obsess over.
Yes, you read that correctly. One hundred and fifty grand.
While our schools crumble, our roads resemble the surface of the moon, and the health service runs on hope and gaffer tape, public bodies are burning through tens of thousands of pounds because a bloke in a hoodie slapped some stencil art on a wall overnight.
The absolute crown jewel of this bureaucrat farce sits right on the wall of the Royal Courts of Justice. Back in September 2025, Banksy stencilled a judge battering a protester with a gavel onto the Grade II listed building.
So what did the Ministry of Justice do? Naturally, they panicked.
They have spent £50,000 trying to scrub the paint off. When scrubbing failed, they spent another £35,300 on security guards and overtime to stand around watching paint not dry. They are using lasers now. Actual lasers. If laser beams do not work, officials might replace the historic stone entirely. That brings the total for one single piece of street art to over £85,000.
You could not write this stuff. It is absolute rubbish.
Security Guards for a Statue Nobody Asked For
It does not end at the courts, though.
Westminster City Council jumped on the gravy train too. In April, another piece popped up at Waterloo Place showing a man carrying a flag over his face. The council has blown nearly £60,000 on metal barriers, admin fees, and a dedicated security guard to babysit a piece of metal on a pavement while politicians argue about who actually owns it.
Meanwhile, back in 2024, someone painted a few piranhas on a police sentry box. The City of London spent £2,200 to yank the box out completely and stick it in storage. Thankfully, that one is heading to the London Museum, so at least we get to look at the sentry box we paid to kidnap.
So here is the grand tally:
| Location | Artwork Subject | Public Money Spent | Official Solution |
| Royal Courts of Justice | Judge hitting protester | £85,300+ | Lasers and overtime |
| Waterloo Place | Man carrying flag | £60,000 | Babysitting security guard |
| City Sentry Box | Swirling piranhas | £2,200 | Shoved into a museum |
The entire system has gone mad. An anonymous millionaire sprays a wall, art dealers double their net worth, politicians scream about vandalism, and working people pick up the bill for high tech laser cleaning.
If you enjoyed this little rant, feel free to pass it on to someone who needs a reality check, or share it online so I know I am not just shouting into a void.
Related Topics: Arts
