Activists in the United Kingdom are trying to coerce a chain of restaurants that celebrate the British Commonwealth into changing their theme by repeatedly vandalizing a mural of Winston Churchill outside the restaurant and launching a petition campaign.
The Evening Standard reports the Blightly UK café used to have a mural outside featuring a depiction of Churchill in his iconic two-finger pose, suggesting he was ordering a “double shot” of their espresso. Vandals, however, spray-painted “scum” and “imperialist” on the mural. According to the Sun, the vandalism of the Churchill painting occurred on more than one occasion, and the mural was recently removed.
Sympathetic Labour Party members are also asking for the government to intervene to force co-owner Chris Evans change the theme of his Blightly Commonwealth of Cafes.
The Labour Party members have reached out to Tottenham MP David Lammy with their petition, which claims the chain “insensitively evoke[s] memory of the Empire.”
Evans also owns the Blightly India café that draws on inspiration from Gandhi.
Evans told the Evening Standard the protests have caused an “unnecessary headache” for him.
“We never imagined that Churchill or Gandhi would attract complaints. We thought they were both widely liked and admired figures,” he said.