St Paul’s Cathedral caused an uproar by calling Sir Winston Churchill an “impudent imperialist” and a “white supremacist” in an online post about Britain’s great war leader.
The cathedral, which hosted Sir Winston’s 1965 state funeral, only removed the highly derogatory descriptions last week after complaints were received that they vilified a man voted the greatest Briton of all time.
The Mail on Sunday understands the offensive description appeared on St Paul’s website for more than a year – but last night it was unclear who wrote it.
In an article about the state funeral, the website pointed to the war leader’s role in repelling the threat of invasion and enabling a fight against the Nazi occupation of Europe.
But it added: “He is also a controversial figure as he was a shameless imperialist and white supremacist.”
Sir Winston Churchill, one of Britain’s great wartime leaders, salutes with the famous “V” hand sign for victory
The offensive description appeared on St. Paul’s website for more than a year
St. Paul’s Cathedral was the site of Sir Winston’s 1965 state funeral. Just last week, the extremely derogatory descriptions were removed
Sir Winston’s grandson Nicholas Soames said last night the family was upset by what he called “deeply offensive, thoughtless, stupid and ignorant” comments.
The 75-year-old Tory politician said his grandfather “saved England” by leading the fight against Hitler’s racist Nazi regime.
He added: “Even considering some of the more extreme views in the Church of England, that really is going too far.” It was deeply offensive and offending to several members of my family, and a number of people have protested. I am pleased that the Canon of the Cathedral has now issued a written apology and has the matter overturned. I don’t know how it got there. This is so thoughtless, stupid and ignorant and so damaging to the image of the church. It’s so awful to say that.’
Lee Anderson, vice leader of the Conservative Party, said: “It’s getting ridiculous.” Anyone who publishes information like this needs to take a good look at themselves and ask themselves why they hate this country, its history and its heritage so much . They are idiots.’
Sir Winston’s offensive description was amended on Friday to read: “He’s also a controversial figure, especially when you look at him from a modern perspective.”
The cathedral acted after receiving a complaint from Nick Gent, 72, a member of the Friends of St Paul’s. In his letter last month, he wrote, “I believe some of the language you used in Churchill’s profile is overly charged and so judgmental that it demonizes Churchill.” Perhaps that language is a function of ignorance or of political ideology.” He accepted that Churchill often held himself “hostage to fate” with comments and jokes that would be considered unacceptable today.
But he said it was important to judge the man on his accomplishments in defeating Hitler.
Sir Winston’s grandson Nicholas Soames said last night the family was upset by what he called “deeply offensive, thoughtless, stupid and ignorant” comments. Sir Nicholas is pictured at Royal Ascot on July 27, 2019
Then Prime Minister Winston Churchill is pictured with Queen Elizabeth II on 3rd December 1952 at the Commonwealth Economic Conference at Buckingham Palace
In an email to Mr Gent, Canon Dr. Paula Gooder on Thursday: “We agree that the tone is inconsistent with the rest of the page or pages on the site.” “We have removed the sentence and hope the paragraph now feels more balanced and appropriate in this context. “
Mr Gent said: “Churchill was such a great philanthropist, going beyond politics.” “He should be a role model for the youth.”
Historian Andrew Roberts said, “It is magnificent that St. Paul’s has abandoned its ultra-vigilant attitude.” The cathedral was the center of the world during Churchill’s funeral in 1965, and its original, ill-chosen words belied this. Since pretty much everything from the past is controversial, especially when viewed from a modern perspective; Your new wording is happily meaningless.’
Lady Antonia Fraser, historian and author, said: “There is much more to say about Churchill and that he was a wonderful man.” He is regularly voted Greatest Englishman and I think he stays there.
Frank Furedi, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Kent University, said: “Branding Churchill as a shameless imperialist and white supremacist is not just an act of historical distortion, but an attempt to discredit everything positive that Britain stood for in the 20th century .”
A St Paul’s spokesman said: “The information on our website regarding Winston Churchill’s state funeral has recently been updated.” It was brought to our attention that some of the text in the description did not match the tone of the rest of the page.
“We therefore reworded the paragraph to make the description more balanced and more appropriate to the context.”
Insulting the memory of a national hero
It is not the first time that institutions and activists have tarnished Sir Winston Churchill’s reputation.
At an event at a Cambridge college named in his honor in 2021, he was branded a “white supremacist” who was “worse than the Nazis”.
And a bronze statue in Westminster has survived multiple attacks over the years.
At a Black Lives Matter march in 2020, protesters spray-painted the words “was a racist” on the memorial.
And last year, Albanians draped their national flag over the statue in protest the day before Memorial Sunday.
In 2000, during the May Day riots, a strip of grass was placed on the head of the memorial, apparently giving Sir Winston a green Mohican-style haircut.