Churchill's granddaughter says his statue may need to be shifted to a musuem

Winston Churchills statue in London's Parliament Square may have to be shifted to a museum for protection if demonstration continues, according to his granddaughter. 

Emma Soames, Churchill's granddaughter was shocked to have witnessed the statue being boarded up, even though she said she understood the necessity, reports the BBC.

She told the BBC the war-time prime minister was a "complex man" but he was considered a hero by millions.

It came after protesters daubed "was a racist" on the statue last weekend.

Ms Soames said it was "extraordinarily sad that my grandfather, who was such a unifying figure in this country, appears to have become a sort of icon through being controversial."

"We've come to this place where history is viewed only entirely through the prism of the present," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme reports BBC.

Ms Soames acknowledged her grandfather had often held views which "particularly now are regarded as unacceptable but weren't necessarily then".

However she added: "He was a powerful, complex man, with infinitely more good than bad in the ledger of his life."

She said if people were "so infuriated" by seeing the statue it may be "safer" in a museum.

"But I think Parliament Square would be a poorer place without him," she added.

Churchill's grandson Sir Nicholas Soames said he was "deeply upset" after the statue was vandalised and then boarded up reports the BBC.

"I find it extraordinary that millions and millions of people all over the world who look up to Britain will be astonished that a statue of Churchill and the Cenotaph, our national war memorial, could have been defaced in this disgusting way," he told the Daily Telegraph.

However, author Shrabani Basu, who has written books about the British Empire, said there were "two sides of Churchill" and "we need to know his darkest hour as well as his finest hour".

She argued that in India, Churchill is not seen as a hero, citing his role in the 1943 Bengal famine, during which at least three million people are believed to have died.

While Ms Basu said she did not want to see the statue removed from Parliament Square, she said people should be taught "the whole story" about the war-time figure reports the BBC.

Black Lives Matter activist Imarn Ayton said statues of slave traders and people who had spoken negatively towards black people were "extremely offensive" and should be moved to museums.

"I think it's a win-win to everyone so we no longer offend the black nation and we also get to keep our history," she told the BBC.

On Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson branded the boarding up of the statue to protect it from potential vandalism as "absurd and shameful".

Mr Johnson said the former prime minister had expressed opinions which were "unacceptable to us today" but remained a hero for saving the country from "fascist and racist tyranny" reports the BBC.

"We cannot try to edit or censor our past," he wrote of moves to remove tributes to historical figures. "We cannot pretend to have a different history."

The statue in London's Parliament Square was boxed up ahead of a Black Lives Matter protest in Westminster on Friday evening.

A demonstration planned for Saturday was brought forward by a day because of fears there could be violent clashes with far-right groups.

The Met Police have placed restrictions on several groups intending to protest on Saturday, including requiring demonstrations to end at 17:00 BST.

Several hundred people gathered in Westminster on Saturday morning, including around the Cenotaph war memorial in Whitehall and the nearby Churchill statue.

Among the demonstrators, who were largely white men, was Paul Golding, leader of far-right group Britain First, who said they had turned out to "guard our monuments".

Other monuments have been removed ahead of separate protests planned over the weekend, while the Cenotaph has also been covered.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said other "key statues", including one of Nelson Mandela, would be protected, saying there was a risk statues could become a "flashpoint for violence" reports the BBC.

It comes after the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was thrown into the harbour in Bristol during a Black Lives Matter protest on Sunday.

Demonstrations have been taking place across the world following the death in police custody of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis last month.