Somerset County Hall defaced with pro-Palestinian graffiti

Red paint and graffiti were smeared across the council's headquarters

A council says it will use taxpayers' money to clean pro-Palestinian graffiti off its headquarters.

Images surfaced on social media on Monday of red paint and graffiti smeared over the front of the Grade II-listed Somerset County Hall in Taunton.

Campaign group Palestine Action says it was behind the protest.

It says the building was targeted because of one of the council's commercial investments linked to the ongoing Gaza Strip conflict.

Somerset Council said the defacing of its main office is "criminal damage".

Avon and Somerset Police said it received a report about the incident at 06:25 GMT, and neighbourhood officers have been carrying out community reassurance patrols "due to the nature of the graffiti".

The force has urged for any witnesses or anyone with information about who was responsible for the damage to contact officers.

Somerset Council agreed to sell off its commercial investments as part of its annual budget, which was approved by councillors in late-February, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Somerset Council has described the defacing as 'criminal damage'

One of the investments were the offices at Aztec West 600 on the outskirts of Bristol - where Elbit Systems is among the tenants.

Elbit Systems is a defence contractor which supplies the Israeli army with equipment.

Palestine Action sprayed 'Elbit Out' and 'Evict Elbit' in multiple places across the front of County Hall.

A Palestinian flag was also left hanging over the front door of A Block, with red paint being sprayed across the first floor.

A local spokesman for the protesters said: "We refuse to stand by whilst the council continue to ignore our requests to evict Elbit."

'Strongly condemn'

Regarding the damage to County Hall, a council spokesman said: "While we respect the right of individuals and groups to protest, we strongly condemn this criminal damage on a Grade II-listed public building which will need to be removed at taxpayers' expense."

The council has not provided a public estimate of how much it will cost to clean up the protesters' work.

Protesters previously disrupted a council executive committee meeting in February, calling on the council to evict Elbit Systems.

The offices at Aztec West 600 were purchased by Sedgemoor District Council in 2020, with Somerset Council inheriting them when it assumed power in April 2023.