India, Feb. 28 -- London police said they caught a vandal red-handed - or at least with red paint - after he defaced a statue Friday of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in central London with pro-Palestinian graffiti.

The 38-year-old suspect was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage for allegedly painting "Zionist war criminal" on the plinth beneath the 12-foot statute of Churchill leaning on a cane that faces Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, the Metropolitan Police said.

"Stop the Genocide" and "Free Palestine" were also painted in red on the bronze sculpture. The Dutch group called "Free the Filton 24," a reference to Palestine Action activists charged with breaking into Israel-based defence ...