Gavin Grey: UK correspondent on Banksy works costing taxpayers nearly £150,000

It’s been revealed three artworks by street artist Banksy have cost taxpayers almost £150,000 in cleaning operations and security so far - with the cost projected to go up.

The most significant expense relates to a mural painted on the Royal Courts of Justice in September 2025, where removal efforts and security have so far cost more than £85,000.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey says there's a risk of people trying to chip the art off the walls and causing property damage.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Devin Gray, UK correspondents with US Ellokeevin Hi. Daniel Killahan
story is fascinating. A.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Yes, it is somebody you may never have heard of,
but he's among the world's most wanted men. And indeed,
the Kinahan Cartel is estimated to have made more than
a billion euros globally from its activities and often. Actually
the US Treasury Department has compared it in the past
with the Yakuza in Japan and Italy's Kmora. So we're

(00:30):
talking a big, big deal here, with a big reward
of five million New Zealand dollars five million US dollars
being offered by the US alone for information leading to
his request. Now, he'd been in the United Arab Emirates,
he had been arrested in April, but after all this
time he was finally extradited back to Ireland amid very

(00:50):
very tight security. Indeed, the Irish Prison Service had bought
a bulletproof and bomb proof van for US to escort prisoners.
Such was the high risk being considered here. But he's
been charged we directing the activities of a criminal organization
between October twenty fifteen and April twenty seventeen. And there
was just a thirteen minute non jury hearing. There was

(01:13):
a special criminal court and he will be remanded in
custody until early October. So a lot of people are
going to be interested in seeing how much it comes
out of the future court case. But part of the
allegations against him are that this long running gang lang
feud between the Kinnerhans and another group had claimed at
least eighteen lives.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
Right, Why is the gloss coming off bank Seedin?

Speaker 2 (01:38):
Well, it is for some obviously, Banksy the street art
is very well known. His works of art worth hundreds
of thousands of New Zealand dollars and they are painted
on buildings. And that's the problem because when they're painted
on buildings, of course some people think, well they're valuable,
I can take them from there, But how do you
get them off a bill, particularly when they're building of

(02:02):
historic significance, as has happened a couple of times here
in the UK. And it's been revealed now that actually
the last three artworks, or three of the most well
known recent ones anyway, have cost the tax by over
three hundred thousand New Zealand dollars in cleaning operations and
security so far. The most costly one has been at

(02:22):
the Royal Courts of Justice, one of the UK's most
senior courts. As it were, it is an historic building
and there appeared a very good and a very amusing
one of Banksy's artworks, but already fifty pounds over one
hundred thousand dollars trying to remove the paint from the wall.
A further seventy eighty thousand New Zealand dollars spent on

(02:46):
overtime and security costs because of course they don't want
anyone just turning up and trying to chip away at it.
So I'm afraid that the gloss of Banksy for some anyway,
is beginning to diminish. Others are saying they should be
just left where they are, but where we've seen that
in the past often others come up and try and
remove it and it can lead to damage, particularly concerning

(03:07):
when it is a historic building.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
Interesting. I'd be happy to have a bank sat on
the side of my Housekevin, thanks very much, appreciate it,
Kevin Gray, UK correspondent.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
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Speaker 1 (03:20):
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