BANKSY PULLS OFF OUTRAGEOUS CCTV PROTEST IN LONDON

The graffiti artist Banksy has pulled off one of his most audacious stunts - an enormous protest against Britain's surveillance society painted just feet from a CCTV camera. The guerrilla artwork appeared on a wall above a Post Office yard off Oxford Street in central London on Monday morning. It features a boy in a red jacket painting the slogan "One Nation Under CCTV" in stark white capitals. His actions are filmed by a policeman next to a barking dog.

The secretive artist's achievement is made more impressive by the fact that the piece is several stories high - meaning he had to erect temporary scaffolding before slipping away unnoticed. Banksy frequently touches on political issues in his work. Last month a Banksy-style painting depicting two children pledging allegiance to supermarket giant Tesco appeared on the wall of a north London pharmacy.
It was interpreted as support for the growing campaign to ban free plastic bags. He has also painted several works on the walls of Bethlehem, including one of a dove of peace wearing a flak jacket.

Famously secretive, Banksy is believed to have only given one newspaper interview, although he has left various clues indicating he is a secondary school drop-out who was born in or around Bristol in 1974. His works now sell for tens of thousands of pounds. A recent auction in October earned £540,000 for 11 pieces, four times the pre-sale estimate.
www.banksy.co.uk