A Banksy mural is a free gift to a city until someone has to clean it off. New figures show three of his London works have cost British public bodies almost £150,000 in cleanup and security, and the bill isn’t finished.
The numbers come from Freedom of Information requests made by the BBC. The biggest line is the stencil of a judge in a wig battering a protester with a gavel, which appeared on the Royal Courts of Justice on Sept. 8, 2025 and which Banksy claimed on his website and Instagram. The Ministry of Justice says it has spent £50,000 trying to remove paint from the Grade II-listed wall, plus £35,300 on overtime and security.
Lasers, and Maybe New Stone
First attempts to scrub the wall failed, so contractors are using “laser technology.” If the cleaning is judged incomplete, the BBC reports, another method will be needed, and the last resort is cutting out and replacing the affected stonework. Planners have also received an application to put railings across the wall.
Read moreAn AI Mural in Banksy’s Hometown Got Banksy Wrong, and Bristol’s Artists Noticed
ARTnews added the conversion for American readers: nearly $203,000 across the three works.
The Other Two Works
The second is the statue of a suited man walking off a plinth in Waterloo Place, with a flag covering his face. It appeared in April, and Banksy confirmed it with an Instagram video, saying of the spot, “There was a bit of a gap.” Westminster City Council, which owns the land and so now owns the sculpture, says it spent almost £60,000 on barriers, administration and a security guard, and that it is “reviewing options for the short, medium and long term.”
The third is the cheapest: in August 2024, Banksy painted piranhas on a City of London Police sentry box, which was removed for £2,200. It went into storage and is due on display at the London Museum when it reopens in November.
The Argument Again
The costs have revived the old question of whether Banksy is vandal or public artist. Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy called it “outrageous that tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money – maybe more – will have to be spent cleaning up after Banksy.” Art critic Estelle Lovatt took the other side: “Some people visit Buckingham Palace and others visit Banksy’s art,” she said, adding that “he makes art accessible because there’s no gallery fee.”
The Metropolitan Police said last September it had received a report of criminal damage at the courthouse, with no arrests at that time. The artist’s later rows have kept the debate going, from a Bristol mural made with AI to murals at a Los Angeles museum. For another summer street-art story with a happier ending, see the Bon Scott mural in Melbourne.
- Total cost
- Almost £150,000 across three works (BBC)
- Largest
- Royal Courts of Justice stencil: £50,000 removal plus £35,300 overtime and security
- Waterloo Place statue
- Almost £60,000 (Westminster City Council)
- Sentry box
- £2,200 removal; due at the London Museum in November
Added to the High Grailed archive on October 12, 2026.
