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Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Banksy theft accused denies stealing anti-war street art piece of three drones on a traffic ‘STOP' sign
A man accused of stealing an original ' Banksy ' anti-war street art piece - depicting three drones on a traffic 'STOP' sign - has appeared in court for the first time. Leon Lawrence, 45, from Southwark in south London, pleaded not guilty and elected for a crown court trial. He is charged with stealing a STOP sign of value 'unknown' belonging to the London Borough of Southwark on December 22 2023. Prosecutor Nathan Paine-Davey told Croydon Magistrates' Court: 'This is suitable to be tried here. It is one matter of theft of a STOP sign, belonging to Southwark Council. 'The fact it is said to have been painted by "Banksy" is irrelevant to the offence, apart from saying that perhaps that makes it more valuable. 'The police say bolt cutters were used to remove the STOP sign and it was taken away. 'The artist confirmed on Instagram it was his work. As a STOP sign the value is nominal, but as an artwork it may be something else.' A shocked crowd gathered on the junction of Commercial Way and Southampton Way, Peckham, just after 12noon on December 22 2023 as they watched a male, standing on a Lime white bike, remove the sign. The Metropolitan Police said at the time two men, one in his 20s and the other in his 40s, were arrested in connection with the incident. That came less than an hour after the elusive artist had confirmed on his official Instagram account that the drones were his artwork. Lawrence has been released on unconditional bail to appear at Inner London Crown Court on September 3. At the time of the theft, Ian Syer, co-founder of MyArtBroker, told the Daily Mail: 'Street installations by Banksy are typically hard to sell due to usually having to remove entire walls of buildings. 'But these chaps had it away in minutes but they'd be lucky to get £250,000 for it, if a buyer ever came forward. 'However, it's our view these installations should never be sold and should be preserved and enjoyed by the public, not stolen for a quick profit.' Banksy, whose career began in the 1990s, is known by millions of people thanks to the appearance of dozens of iconic artworks in unexpected locations around the world, with many having gone on to sell for millions. For years his identity has been a hot topic, with names such as Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja and Gorillaz founder Jamie Hewlett being floated. Also suggested is public schoolboy Robin Gunningham, who was 'unmasked' as Banksy by the Mail On Sunday in 2008 after an investigation into his past. He was described as a former public schoolboy from Bristol, with the newspaper also publishing a photograph taken in Jamaica in 2004 that showed a man with a bag of spray cans by his feet - identified as Mr Gunningham. However, Mr Gunningham's family denied that he was Banksy. One of Banksy's most striking moments was in 2003 when he disguised himself as a pensioner and installed a piece in a vacant spot in the Tate Britain in London. His artwork Girl With Balloon self- destructed in a Sotheby's London saleroom when descending into a shredder in 2018. That piece was then renamed Love Is In The Bin, which in 2021 sold for £18.6million - an all-time high for a Banksy artwork. Who is Banksy? A former public schoolboy from middle-class suburbia, Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja or Gorillaz founder Jamie Hewlett, the theories behind the identity of the world's most elusive street artist The identity of Banksy is one of the most closely guarded secrets in the world, but that hasn't stopped people from speculating. The street artist, whose career began in the 90s, is known by millions of people thanks to the appearance of dozens of iconic artworks in unexpected locations around the world, with many having gone on to sell for millions. For years his identity has been a hot topic, with names such as Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja and Gorillaz founder Jamie Hewlett being floated around. Regardless of who he his, Banksy's works are hot property on the art market. In 2021, his 'Love is in the Bin' work was bought for more than £18million, with its value having been boosted after a shredder hidden in its frame cut it to pieces moments after it was sold for the first time in 2018. The work, previously known as 'Girl with Balloon', was just one of more than a dozen of Banksy's creations that have sold for more than £2million. Robin Gunningham Banksy uses art as a form of activism, regularly making societal and political statements with their works. The artist was born just outside of Bristol in 1973 and he was a talented illustrator who drew cartoons. Having also sprayed his tag across Bristol, Banksy then evolved with the times and began creating more sophisticated pieces, whilst always keeping his identity hidden. One of Banksy's earliest works is the The Mild Mild West. The large mural was painted in 1999 in Bristol's Stokes Croft and shows a teddy bear throwing a Molotov cocktail at three riot police. It was painted by the artist over three days in broad daylight and is still in the city today, among some of Banksy's other works. An exhaustive Mail On Sunday investigation into Banksy's identity in 2008 heard from dozens of friends, former colleagues, enemies, flatmates and even family members. The search began with an image of a man in Jamaica at work with his stencils and cans of spray paint. Although Banksy denied the image showed him, the Mail's investigation was later backed by researchers at Queen Mary University. They used 'geographic profiling' - a technique more often used to catch criminals or track outbreaks of disease - to plot the locations of 192 of Banksy's presumed artworks. The sites indicated 'hot spots' which were narrowed down to pinpoint an individual. Peaks within these clusters were found to correlate to a pub, playing fields and residential addresses closely linked to Robin Gunningham and his friends and family. Mr Gunningham attended Bristol Cathedral School and was born in July 1973. A school photo of him bore a striking resemblance to the man in the Jamaica photograph. A former school friend described him as being 'extremely talented' at art and admitted he would 'not be at all surprised' if he was Banksy. In anonymous interviews he has done, Banksy has said he first became interested in graffiti at school. And a fellow artist he was living with in Bristol in 1998, Luke Egan, went on to exhibit with Banksy at Santa's Ghetto, an art store in London's West End. However, Mr Gunningham's family denied that he was Banksy and the link was never explicitly confirmed. Robert Del Naja Another popular theory is that Banksy is Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja. As well as being a founder member of his hit band, who have sold more than 13million studio albums worldwide, Del Naja, 58, is also a graffiti artist who has done work in Bristol under the name of 3D. Banksy has named 3D as one of his early inspirations. The assumption that Del Naja could be Banksy was first discussed after DJ Goldie reportedly said his name on a podcast while talking about him. He said: 'No disrespect to Rob, I think he is a brilliant artist. I think he has flipped the world of art over.' Fans have also claimed to have spotted Banksy artworks in the same cities as where Massive Attack played-twice. But Del Naja has denied the claims publicly. Jamie Hewlett It has also been suggested that Jamie Hewlett, who founded the Gorillaz, could be Banksy. This was because an anonymous forensic expert allegedly linked him to every company associated with the street artist. Banksy has also designed work used in the Gorillaz music videos in the past. But any link has been denied by his publicist. Many people also claim to have actually spotted Banksy over the years. One more recent sighting was apparently of the street artist wearing PPE while on the London Underground in 2020. And in 2018, it was claimed that a passerby had seen him near one of his works in Hull. Meanwhile, in April 2017, a woman saw an artist in an Israeli mall who was working. The artist had recently opened an exhibition in Bethlehem. She filmed the man, who seemed concerned and covered his face when he realised he was on camera. Fleeing artist in Melbourne In October 2016, an artist furious he was being filmed was captured on camera on in Melbourne, sparking rumours that he was Banksy. In the mobile phone footage, the person filming was seen approaching a man down a dark alleyway as he sprayed paint on wall. After he began walking away, she raced after the man, who turned and tried to block the camera with his hand, shouting 'f*** off, f*** off', before escaping down an alley. Man in Brooklyn warehouse In 2013, many believed Banksy's identity had finally been revealed and Twitter blew up after user @DjJonHenry posted photographs of a group of men and two trucks used for Banksy's recent Sirens Of The Lambs and Waterfall mobile works of art. The photo showed five men arranging stuffed animals in a truck outside a warehouse in Red Hook Brooklyn, leading to speculation that one of the men was the reclusive artist. Henry said the photographs were taken at a warehouse in the Red Hook area of Brooklyn and that he approached the men after recognizing the vehicles from Banksy's month-long residency in New York. The men refused to answer when Henry asked where Banksy was, although he tweeted that he thought the man on top of the truck might be him since he was directing the others and spoke with an English accent. Other media sources, including Gothamist, speculated that the man to the left of the vehicle could be Banksy because he boew a resemblance to the man in the photo published by the MoS in their 2008 investigation that named Mr Gunningham as Banksy. Henry backtracked the claims after receiving a mass of replies from Banksy-fans who accused him of trying to jeopardize the remainder of Banksy's show. Thierry Guetta The Street artist's 2010 documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop shares the story of Theiry Guetta, a street artist in Los Angeles who goes by the name Mr Brainwash. The French filmmaker runs a vintage clothing shop and obsesses over filming his surroundings, he became famous after the documentary and rumours spread that he was Banksy. The theory has been flattened by various sources. An unnamed woman Most theories assume Banksy is a man, but some rumours emerged that the artist is actually a woman in charge of a group of artists. Chris Healey first put forward the theory in the documentary Banksy Does New York, and says that Banks is the blonde woman who appears in the studio scenes in Exit Through the Gift Shop. While Healey refuses to give up his source, he maintains his stance. Richard Pfeiffer The Brooklyn freelance engineer and artist was admiring one of Banky's works in Manhattan with his girlfriend when he was arrested and accused of drawing the image. At the time, he had a pen in his pocket but was able to prove it was not the same one that drew the graffiti and the charges were dropped six months later.
BBC News
01-08-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Southwark Council estate repairs '£6m over budget'
A south London council has overspent by £6m on the redevelopment of three housing estates, reports have concluded that Southwark Council's poor management of contracts led to the chaotic refurbishment and "unacceptable" outcomes for residents living at Devon Mansions and the Kirby Estate in Bermondsey, and the Canada Estate in Rotherhithe.A council meeting this week heard there were failures and "significant missteps" leading up to the overspend.A Southwark Council spokesperson welcomed the reports and said what had happened was "unacceptable and fell far short of what our residents deserve". The long-awaited investigation comes almost two years after residents first raised concerns about the cost of and delay to the works, as well as numerous poor repairs, according to the Local Democracy Reporting told the council's overview and scrutiny committee in November 2023 there had been "shoddy" repair work, from poorly installed windows which did not close properly to half-finished paint jobs they were expected to foot the bill for. In June 2020, a contract was awarded to Durkan Limited to carry out major works at Canada Estate, including asbestos removal, front entrance door replacements and window replacements, which were to be completed over a period of 60 weeks at a cost of £ the project ended up taking 72 extra weeks and costs increased by more than £2.1m due to the scope of the works April 2020, Engie Regeneration Limited was awarded a contract worth £5.6m to carry out works lasting 62 weeks at Devon Mansions including fire safety improvements and kitchen and bathroom cost of the major works increased by a further £4.1m with the project taking an extra 102 weeks.A third project on the Kirby Estate also experienced significant delays, with costs increasing by £167,000. In November 2023, a "task and finishing team" was established to carry out an internal review of the work at Devon Mansions and the Canada Estate and a second review for the Kirby Dalton told this week's meeting: "Since we have become the ward councillors for London Bridge and West Bermondsey, a year and a half before that we had gained a clear picture of just how catastrophic the failings have been and just how much residents had been let down."[Residents] were spending countless online major works meetings where [they] simply weren't getting the answers and therefore initiating the investigation seemed the only solution to us."Emily Hickson, who represents the same ward, said council officers did not understand nor investigate concerns raised by residents. Hakeem Osinaike, the council's strategic director of housing, apologised to residents across the three estates and said although most of the issues had been addressed, it did not take away the fact that the council should have done better in the first place."I have been very, very clear to my colleagues that there will be a genuine explanation of what went wrong and lessons learned to ensure the mistakes found are never repeated," he said.
Daily Mirror
24-07-2025
- Daily Mirror
Drivers can use just three words to get out of paying parking tickets
An expert says that he often hears parking operators say that the motorist should have read the terms and conditions - but saying these three magic words could save drivers from paying hefty fines A former judge has divulged a straightforward three-word phrase that could help you wriggle out of paying parking fines when contesting a ticket. "I knew nothing," are the magic words from ex-judge Stephen Gold, which might just be your golden ticket to dodging the charge. It appears playing dumb is the way forward, as Gold suggests drivers who believe they were oblivious to the payment specifics stand a good chance at successfully appealing. Chatting with the Daily Mail, he said: "The operator must prove that you agreed to its conditions: if and when you would have to pay, and what would happen if you did not pay. "It will be unable to do this unless it can show that the conditions were displayed on one or more notices at the car park which a reasonable motorist would have seen, even if you did not see them because you drive and walk facing the sky." One could argue they simply missed the parking signs, particularly if they're not prominently placed. There's also a chance that the signage was nowhere to be seen along the path taken by people entering or exiting. \Mr Gold continued: "The car park operator will almost certainly rely on written evidence at the hearing which will include photographs of the signs containing their conditions. But sometimes the photographs will fail to establish where exactly the signs were displayed in relation to where you were parked and the route you would have taken to reach that point." Motorists are being alerted to a spate of counterfeit Penalty Charge Notices, or PCNs, cropping up nationwide, reports Birmingham Live. These sham PCNs are equipped with scam QR codes in a worrying new trend dubbed 'quishing'. A Peckham local reported: "After examining the ticket closely, it became clear that it was a fake, designed to deceive residents into paying fines to a bogus company." In Islington, a motorist discovered a phoney ticket which claimed he had received a "parking charge notice," in contrast to the legitimate "penalty charge notice." The fraudulent notice demands payment of £120 "within the next 14 days" or a "discounted amount" of £60 for "early payments" within seven days. A Southwark Council spokesperson commented: "We are aware of the issue and will be investigating further alongside informing the police. We would urge residents and visitors to remain vigilant and please report any suspicious parking tickets directly to the council's parking team to verify by emailing parking@ or calling 0800 138 9081, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm." It continued: "Anyone who thinks they have been victim of a scam should contact their bank and the police as soon as possible." The council also noted that "the council has not received any reports of these fake parking tickets. They explained: "If someone believes that they have been given a fake parking ticket, they can get advice or report it to Trading Standards by contacting Citizens Advice or report it to Action Fraud."
BBC News
24-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
London heat network users say price cap lack has cost them dearly
Residents connected to council-run heat networks say they are struggling to pay for heating because their spiralling costs are not covered by the energy price network schemes are meant to keep costs down by buying fuel in bulk. But because gas is purchased on a commercial basis by councils, end-users are not covered by the energy price cap set by Ofgem, the gas and electricity obtained by the BBC revealed heat network residents in London have been paying nearly 30% more than the Ofgem price cap rate since government said Ofgem would be made the regulator for heat networks in 2026 to "deliver fairer bills and ensure networks are kept in good condition". About 500,000 homes nationally are connected to the UK's approximately 13,000 heat include the maisonette owned by Dolly Thomas, who has lived there since 2011 with her husband and two estimated service charge for her home, in North Peckham, London, is more than £6,600 next year. More than half - £3,508.91 - is for heating and hot water. She will struggle to pay, she said."It's had a serious impact, it's not funny," said Ms Thomas. "We have [had] to give up a lot of things."I've got to the point where I've even asked the council to buy the flat back, but they said they don't have the money."Ms Thomas is connected to the Southwark Council-run North Peckham Heat Network which provides heating and hot water to 842 other homes, via a vast web of total amount of gas used is divided between each property, regardless of how much they Thomas was able to afford the service charge when she moved in, but the cost has tripled since she moved in. What is a heat network? Gas is purchased on a commercial basis by councils, and therefore not covered by the energy price cap set by means there is no upper limit on how much consumers like Dolly can be say many older heat networks in London have been poorly maintained, meaning huge quantities of heat generated in the boil room is lost as it travels along inefficient and badly insulated pipes. Stephen Knight, from the Heat Trust, said: "We see so many heat networks in the UK that have been poorly put together, poorly maintained with heat loses that is more than the heat delivered to customers. "That's what is driving a lot of the high prices along with really expensive and volatile commercial energy costs."The BBC has spoken to dozens of residents in London who are linked to communal heating systems and say they have seen big price hikes since the energy crisis in 2023-24. Sharon Shanhani has lived alone in her three-bedroom flat opposite the Consort Estate in south London since 2019. She paid £3,369 for heating and hot water last year."I don't use it much and I only have one radiator on," she said. "I basically give all my money to Southwark Council and I don't understand how that can be when I own my own home. "I really have to scrape [by], but it's compacted by the fact that I shouldn't have to be paying it."We don't have any meters in this block... there is no connection between how much you're using and the price you pay."Ms Shanhani claims the system is unfair and said she was concerned that she may struggle to sell her flat in the future, because of the rising energy she would like her own boiler so that she only pays for what she uses. What the BBC Investigation found: The BBC used freedom of information requests to all London councils and found more than 34,000 homes are connected to a heat network operated by a local authority in LondonThis number could be much higher because only 18 out of 33 local authorities responded to our request - of those, nine confirmed they ran heat networksAnalysis of these figures by the Heat Trust found all those who responded were paying less for gas than the Ofgem domestic price cap up until 2022-23Since 2023-24 they have paid on average almost 30% more than the rate set by Ofgem's price cap The figures revealed all nine boroughs experienced a rise in gas prices between 2020-21 and 2023-24. Reported increases ranged from 140% in Kensington and Chelsea to 330% in Waltham Forest Mr Knight said the data collated by the BBC revealed that "in the middle of the energy crisis in 2023-24, local authorities were paying more for the gas than those who had a home boiler that was paid through the domestic price cap". "Typically," he said, "it should be much cheaper for a big operator of a heat network to procure energy (gas) than a domestic consumer. "But, because of the lack of price protection from the price cap that situation was reversed during the energy crisis and that has led to thousands of consumers facing enormous bills, with some being lumbered in debt." Sarah King, Southwark Council's cabinet member for council homes, said heat networks were "a key part of the government's plan to cut carbon emissions" and her council was "leading the way" with its network."We also have some older networks that use higher temperatures and more complex pipework, which can lead to more heat loss," she said. Ms King said the reliability of its network was "high" and, where performance was found to be lower it was "prioritising upgrades"."We buy fuel in bulk to keep costs down," Ms King said. "But rising energy prices have pushed up heating charges."The council said it was supporting residents who preferred heat meters to better manage and had already installed about 2,000 meters."We know energy costs are a real concern," Ms King said. "If you're struggling with bills, please contact the council for support."Miatta Fahnbulleh, the minister for energy consumers, said the government was "determined" to make sure heat network customers paid "fairer prices for the energy they use, with rapid support and compensation if things go wrong".She said the Energy Ombudsman, Citizens Advice and Consumer Scotland were all "now on hand" to offer help and advice to heat network customers."We will also go further by making Ofgem the new heat network regulator," she said, "with the power to deliver fairer bills and ensure networks are kept in good condition."
BBC News
15-07-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Significant flooding after burst water pipe in Bermondsey
A major water pipe that has burst has caused "significant flooding" in south-east Council said it was working with Thames Water and the Metropolitan Police at the scene on Ilderton Road, Bermondsey. A council spokesperson said they had set up a rest centre and were helping people who had to leave their homes due to Water said the burst pipe was affecting customers in 12 postcode areas. It said engineers were onsite and working to isolate the section of pipe that needs fixing. "We know some properties have unfortunately been affected by flooding," a Thames Water spokesperson said."Our team is on the ground supporting residents. To keep everyone safe, traffic management is in place while work is ongoing. "Most customers should begin to see their supply come back over the next hour or two. Pressure may be lower than normal at first, but it will continue to build."
