'get a grip! ' churchill's grandson rages at handling of blm protests

Nicholas Soames, who served as a Tory MP for almost 30 years, has hit out at the police response to the anti-racist protests that took place across the UK this weekend. Responding to a Tweet

by Home Secretary Priti Patel, where she wished a police officer who was injured in the demonstrations a speedy recovery, Mr Soames urged her to "get a grip" on the situation. He

also indicated his astonishment and sadness that a statue of his grandfather, Sir Winston Churchill, was defaced during the protests. Responding to the Home Secretary, Mr Soames wrote:

"#youneedtogetagrip". The former Tory MP also shared a series of photographs and videos showing the damage to a statue of Winston Churchill at Parliament Square in London. The

memorial was defaced by activists during yesterday's Black Lives Matter protests. Vandals added the phrase "was racist" to the statue of the wartime leader, leaving the

monument reading: "Churchill was a racist". Responding to a video of the damage shared on social media, Mr Soames wrote: "#andinthemidstoftheDDayAnniversary." He shared a

second picture of the defaced statue which read: "On so many levels this is sad to see..." Last night Mr Soames shared a clip of people cleaning up the memorial, and he responded

by writing: "#thankyou." The £30,000 statue was unveiled by his widow Clementine in 1973 and created by Ivor Roberts-Jones. JUST IN: PIERS MORGAN BLASTS WINSTON CHURCHILL GRAFFITI

IN FURIOUS GMB OUTBURST The statue has long been criticised, with numerous petitions demanding it be removed due to Mr Colston's links to the slave trade. On Sunday the police

didn't intervene in the destruction of the statue, with Superintendent Andy Bennett explaining the force made a "tactical decision" not to stop people from doing the act - in

fear it would spark "further disorder". But Mr Soames fumed at the decision and described it as "lamentable policing". In response to a video of Superintendent Bennett

explaining the decision, the former Tory MP wrote: "#trulydismalunacceptablepolicing." Mr Soames also shared a number of Tweets calling for those responsible for destroying the

statue to be prosecuted. One Tweet, written by Daily Mail journalist Andrew Pierce, said: "The mindless vandals, who pulled down that statue in Bristol who include a teacher for God”s

sake, should be prosecuted." He shared a second Tweet that read: "I expect to see some arrests before the close of play tomorrow."