A 38-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage.

In an update, the Metropolitan Police said he has been further arrested on suspicion of supporting Palestine Action, which is a proscribed organisation, under the Terrorism Act and remains in custody.

A No 10 spokesman said of the vandalism: "It's obviously a disgrace. It's completely abhorrent.

"Churchill was a great Briton. This Government will always stand up for our values and the perpetrator must be held to account.

"We're glad the police have made an arrest."

Officers from the Met Police were alerted to the vandalism shortly after 4am on Friday.

The statue has been cordoned off and was being cleaned this morning.

A Greater London Authority spokesperson said: "We are appalled by this vandalism to the statue of Sir Winston Churchill and work is under way to remove the graffiti as quickly as possible."

Commenting on an image of the monument, which was shared on X, Dave Rich, director of policy for Community Security Trust, posted: "Free Palestine" and a Hamas red triangle, if you zoom in close enough. This extremism is never just a threat to Jews."

Read more from Sky News:
Netflix withdraws Warner Bros bid
We are in a new era of multi-party politics

The Jewish Leadership Council said it was "disgusted" by the defacement of the statue.

It said on X: "In targeting the statue of a British hero who led this country in the fight against the Nazis, the perpetrator has found a perverse way to combine a hatred of Jews with a disdain for Britain."

Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, wrote: "One of the greatest champions for liberty, who defeated the Nazis, defaced.

"Zionism, the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, inverted.

"Santayana's 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it', never truer."

The 12ft-tall statue on the north-east corner of the square, created by Ivor Roberts-Jones, was unveiled in 1973 by the former prime minister's wife, Lady Clementine Churchill.

It is one of 12 statues on or around Parliament Square, most of well-known statesmen such as Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln.

The former prime minister's statue has been vandalised several times over the years, including during demonstrations.

Last December, both the Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police announced anyone chanting "globalise the intifada" would face arrest.

The decision by the two police forces came in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack, and the terror attack at Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester on 2 October.

He was taken to hospital after being found in a pool of blood following an alleged attack by an unknown inmate on Thursday.

A Durham Constabulary spokesperson said there had been no change in the 52-year-old's condition overnight.

"He remains in hospital in a serious condition," they added.

Police earlier said that a man in his mid-40s was being investigated over the incident.

"He has not been arrested at this stage but remains in detention within the prison," the force added.

Huntley killed 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham, Cambridgeshire, in August 2002.

The latest incident is not the first time Huntley has been attacked at HMP Frankland.

In 2011, an inmate who slashed Huntley's throat with a makeshift knife was jailed for life.

Damien Fowkes was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years for the attempted murder of Huntley in March 2010 and the manslaughter of child killer Colin Hatch.

Fowkes inflicted a wound seven inches long on Huntley's neck and the court was told it was only "good fortune" that the weapon missed anything vital.

The disappearance and murders of schoolgirls Holly and Jessica captured the attention of the nation in 2002.

Huntley killed them after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets, and then dumped their bodies in a ditch.

He was their school caretaker and put himself forward as a volunteer to help search for them after they went missing - and was interviewed by reporters on camera.

The efforts to locate the girls in the 13 days after they disappeared have been described as one of the most intense and extensive in British criminal history.

Huntley was convicted of murdering both girls in December 2003 and sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment.

Read more from Sky News:
Man arrested after Churchill statue vandalised
Gregg Wallace drops legal claim against BBC

His girlfriend, Maxine Carr - the girls' teaching assistant - had knowingly provided Huntley with a false alibi.

She was jailed for three-and-a-half years for conspiring with Huntley to pervert the course of justice.

Khawaja ‌Muhammad Asif said Islamabad's ​patience ⁠had ⁠run out as tensions escalated, with casualties reported on both sides.

"Our cup of patience has ⁠overflowed," he said in a social media post. "Now ​it is ​open war between ​us and ⁠you [Afghanistan]."

He alleged the Taliban had turned Afghanistan "into a colony of India", gathered militants from around the world and had started "exporting terrorism".

There has been no reaction from Afghan government officials to Mr Asif's comments.

Pakistan carried out strikes on the Afghan capital Kabul and two other provinces overnight, Afghanistan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, just hours after Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan.

Security sources in Pakistan said the strikes involved air and ground strikes against Taliban posts, headquarters and ammunition depots ​along the border.

A Reuters news agency witness in Kabul said many ambulance sirens could be heard following a series of loud blasts.

Both sides reported heavy losses, issuing ‌sharply differing figures that have not been independently verified.

Afghanistan's defence ministry said overnight that 55 Pakistani soldiers had been killed, including some whose bodies were taken into Afghanistan, and that "several others were captured alive".

It said eight Afghan soldiers were killed and 11 wounded. The ministry also said it destroyed 19 Pakistani army posts and two bases and that the fighting ended around midnight, about four hours after it began on Thursday.

Ahmed ​Sharif Chaudhry, a spokesperson for the Pakistan military, claimed its armed forces had killed 274 members of the Taliban forces and militants.

He also said 22 Afghan military targets were hit, adding that at least 12 Pakistani soldiers were killed in the fighting.

None of these figures has been independently verified.

He added that military operations were ongoing on the orders of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Read more from Sky News:
Zelenskyy tells Sky News the US has the power to end the war
UK's delicate deal to get the Bayeux Tapestry loaned from France

Cross-border battles have intensified following months of tensions and skirmishes between the two nations.

The escalation threatens a fragile ceasefire along the 1,615-mile border and deepens a dispute over Islamabad's claim that Kabul harbours Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants - an accusation ​the Taliban deny.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper wrote on X: "The UK is deeply concerned by the significant escalation in tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"We urge both sides to take immediate steps toward de‑escalation, avoid further harm to civilians, and re‑engage in mediated dialogue."

It said the temporary precautionary measure has been taken due to the ongoing security situation.

At the US embassy in Jerusalem, non-emergency US staff and family have been told to leave Israel due to safety risks.

The embassy said on Friday that the US government may implement further restrictions on US personnel in Israel and advised its citizens to consider leaving while they can.

"Persons may wish to consider leaving Israel while commercial flights are available," it said.

Britain's foreign office also provided an update on Friday, with the travel warnings providing one of the strongest indications yet that a regional conflict could be imminent.

"Due to the ongoing security situation, we have taken the precautionary measure to temporarily withdraw UK staff from Iran," the UK government foreign travel advice website said.

"Our embassy continues to operate remotely."

The UK does not appear to have withdrawn any staff from Israel, but continues to advise against travel to parts of the country over security concerns.

The warning comes a day after talks between the US and Iran over its nuclear programme ended without an agreement.

Donald Trump set ​out his case for a possible attack on ​Iran in ⁠his State ⁠of the Union speech on Tuesday.

The US president said while he preferred a diplomatic ‌solution, he would not allow Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Mr Trump has previously threatened to take military action against Iran if a deal is not reached.

The US has spent the last month amassing a fleet of aircraft and warships in the region.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

The photos, included in the Epstein files and verified by Sky's Data and Forensics team, were taken on numerous Clinton Foundation trips where Epstein was present.

The former US president has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and has said he did not know about the sex offender's crimes. Being included in the Epstein files does not imply wrongdoing.

In 1992, records show Epstein donated $2,000 to Mr Clinton's successful presidential campaign on 30 January and 8 June - a small fraction of the $62m his campaign raised overall.

After being sworn in as president in 1993, Mr Clinton was pictured in September with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell after an event for donors to a White House restoration project.

The event was said to have been for donors and records list Epstein and Maxwell donating $10,000 to the White House Historical Association the same day as the event. Hillary Clinton hosted the event with her husband Bill Clinton.

Freedom of information (FOI) records show that Epstein visited the White House 17 times from 1993 to 1995.

In 1996, Mr Clinton was re-elected for a second presidential term.

A few years later in 1999, records from the Federal Election Commission show Epstein donated $20,000 on 29 October to Hillary Clinton's senate campaign. This donation shows no suggestion of wrongdoing.

In 2001, Bill Clinton left office, creating the Clinton Foundation, with the mission to "strengthen the capacity of people in the United States and throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence".

In 2002, Mr Clinton visited Epstein's New York residence once, as confirmed by Mr Clinton's spokesperson Angel Urena.

Sky News has verified numerous photographs taken on Clinton Foundation trips where Epstein was present.

In May 2002, Mr Clinton set off for his trip around Asia for the Clinton Foundation on Epstein's plane. They visited, Russia, Singapore, China, Bangkok and Brunei in a three-day period.

These photos were taken on 25 May 2002 at Don Mueang International Airport, then with pictures at Wat Phra Kaew, a Buddhist temple.

Thumbnails show what appears to be Epstein's plane on the platform at the airport.

Many pictures from the Asia trip were already public but have been verified for the first time by the Sky News Data and Forensics team. Using images released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Sky News analysed photo thumbnails alongside enlarged photos, to locate and date certain photos on this timeline, cross-referencing them with flight logs and email exchanges.

This set of photographs was in Brunei in the Emperor suite at the Empire Hotel.

The suite is a luxurious accommodation that spans 665 square metres (over 7,000 square feet) and features a master bedroom, private dining area, swimming pool, sauna, steam room, grand piano, and a cinema.

An article in Vanity Fair on Epstein placed a photo of the two on a plane on the Brunei trip. Another photo released by the DOJ shows Mr Clinton in the same seat, with the same clothes, holding his arm around a redacted girl. This photo does not imply any wrongdoing.

A few months later, in July, Mr Clinton and Epstein were pictured together at the royal wedding of King Mohammed VI in Morocco on 12 July 2002. Flight logs show they flew back to Santa Maria together the following day.

Thumbnails from an album released by the DOJ, labelled "Morroco king wedding", show Mr Clinton on Epstein's plane.

In Santa Maria on a stopover, before going on a Clinton Foundation trip around Africa, Mr Clinton is pictured with someone who was later identified as one of Epstein's victims. She is massaging his shoulders in Santa Maria airport. No Epstein victim has accused Mr Clinton of wrongdoing.

At the end of September 2002, Mr Clinton embarked on his Africa trip, alongside Epstein. The trip included locations such as Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Mozambique and South Africa.

In the same year, Mr Clinton commented on Epstein in New York Magazine that he "appreciated his [Epstein's] insights and generosity during the recent trip to Africa to work on democratisation, empowering the poor, citizen service, and combating HIV/AIDS".

After this trip, Mr Clinton ended up flying to London with Ghislaine Maxwell and other passengers.

Mr Clinton and Epstein visited London in September 2002. Photos verified by Sky News place Mr Clinton at 10 Downing Street and the Churchill War Rooms, alongside Maxwell and others, including the actor Kevin Spacey. Being included or pictured in the files is not evidence of wrongdoing.

A year later, Epstein's Birthday Book was created by Ghislaine Maxwell. The book is described as a bound collection of birthday letters compiled for Epstein's 50th birthday. A message signed 'Bill Clinton' was left in the book. It praised Epstein's 'childlike curiosity' and 'drive to make a difference'.

Later that year in November, another Clinton Foundation trip took place in the Far East, once again using Epstein's jet.

Photos verified by Sky News show Mr Clinton at dinner with Epstein, Maxwell, Mick Jagger and Doug Band in China. The photos can now be placed at China Club restaurant in Hong Kong, a private members' club.

Flight logs published in the Epstein files show Mr Clinton was in Hong Kong between 6 and 9 November.

On 7 November, the Rolling Stones had a concert in Hong Kong at Tamar Site for the Harbour Festival. Footage from that night shows Mr Clinton was in attendance. Following this, pictures released by the DOJ show backstage photos of this concert where it appears Epstein was also in attendance.

Continuing their relationship, in 2010, Ghislaine Maxwell was a guest at the wedding of Bill and Hillary Clinton's daughter Chelsea.

Hillary Clinton was questioned about Maxwell attending the wedding during her deposition with the House Oversight Committee. She stated she knew Maxwell "casually as an acquaintance", and that Maxwell "came as the plus one, the guest, of someone who was invited".

Bill Clinton has always denied any wrongdoing. In 2019 after Epstein killed himself in jail while facing sex trafficking charges, a Clinton spokesman said that he "knows nothing about the terrible crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago, or those with which he has been recently charged in New York".

"In 2002 and 2003, President Clinton took a total of four trips on Jeffrey Epstein's airplane: one to Europe, one to Asia, and two to Africa, which included stops in connection with the work of the Clinton Foundation."

The Data x Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.