New Banksy mural appears at Royal Courts of Justice

A new mural by elusive street artist Banksy has appeared on the side of the Royal Courts of Justice building in central London.

It depicts a judge in a traditional wig and black robe hitting a protester lying on the ground, with blood splattering their placard.

While the mural does not reference a particular cause or incident, its appearance comes two days after almost 900 people were arrested at a London protest against the ban on Palestine Action.

The artwork was quickly covered up by large sheets of plastic and two metal barriers, under the guard of two security officers.

The spot Banksy chose is on the usually quiet Carey Street at the back of the Royal courts - but on Monday it was busy with onlookers taking pictures of the recently hidden patch of wall.

One said they did not know how much longer they would be required to stand guard, adding "at least it's not raining".

The Bristol-based street artist shared a photo of the wall art on Instagram, which is Banksy's usual method of claiming a work as authentic. The artist captioned the picture: "Royal Courts Of Justice. London."

The artwork is on an external wall of the Queen's Building, part of the Royal Courts of Justice complex.

Banksy's stencilled graffiti is often critical of government policy, war and capitalism.

Last summer, the artist began an animal-themed campaign in the capital of nine works, which concluded with a gorilla appearing to lift up a shutter on the entrance to London Zoo.

Other notable works included piranhas swimming on a police sentry box in the City of London, and a howling wolf on a satellite dish, which was taken off the roof of a shop in Peckham, south London, less than an hour after it was unveiled.

Banksy has in the past also been known for his work in the West Bank.

In December 2019 he created a "modified Nativity" at a hotel in Bethlehem which showed Jesus' manger in front of Israel's separation barrier, which appeared to have been pierced by a blast, creating the shape of a star.

Israel says the barrier is needed is to prevent infiltrations from the West Bank but Palestinians say it is a tool to grab land.