A pretty penny: Three Banksy artworks cost taxpayers £150,000 in upkeep
Banksy’s artwork outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenBanksy’s artwork outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Banksy confirmed the work was his by posting an image on his website and Instagram account.The Ministry of Justice told the BBC, after a freedom of information request, that £50,000 had been spent trying to remove the paint from the wall of the Grade II-listed building on Carey Street.
- ▪Banksy’s artwork outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
- ▪Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenBanksy’s artwork outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
- ▪Banksy confirmed the work was his by posting an image on his website and Instagram account.The Ministry of Justice told the BBC, after a freedom of information request, that £50,000 had been spent trying to remove the paint from the wall of
2 outlets in our directory ran this story, first to last over 13 hours. All of the coverage we found sits in one bucket: centre. That one-sidedness is itself worth noticing.
- ▪ Banksy works cost public almost £150,000 — BBC News — UK
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| Original publisher | The Guardian — World |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2026/aug/09/banksy-artworks-huge-upkeep-costs-taxpayer |
| Publication time | Sun, 09 Aug 2026 14:09:47 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-08-09T14:15:43.294Z |
| Last seen | 2026-08-09T14:15:43.294Z |
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| Summary source text | contentText |
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| Cluster | Eeqy-ubatadp · 2 stories |
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Banksy’s artwork outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenBanksy’s artwork outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty ImagesBanksyA pretty penny: Three Banksy artworks cost taxpayers £150,000 in upkeepAn outraged shadow justice secretary said the artist should foot the bill, while others say his murals make art accessibleNadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondentSun 9 Aug 2026 10.09 EDTLast modified on Sun 9 Aug 2026 10.11 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleThree Banksy artworks have cost taxpayers almost £150,000 in cleaning, security and other costs, with the bill expected to rise.The largest bill relates to a mural painted on the Royal Courts of Justice in London in…
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