White Washed Banksy Brexit Message Revealed in UK City of Culture

The picture of a young boy brandishing a toy sword with a pencil attached to it and wearing an upturned metal colander on his head appears on the already graffitied wall next to a slogan "draw the raised bridge" painted in capital letters.

But just days after the artwork appeared, vandals white washed the stencil. However a local window cleaner stepped in and has subsequently been been hailed a hero for saving the stencil by clearing the paint which had been daubed on top of it.

Speculation remains whether Banksy chose Hull and this particular bridge which is permanently drawn, to draw his latest artwork as a message for the city on Brexit.

John Abbott Conservative councillor for the city doesn't share the same opinion, suggesting the work should be "cleaned off" because it wasn't "real art."

Banksy's latest work in Hull has now been protected with perspex.

'Gateway to Europe'

Ships and passenger ferries to and from mainland Europe load and unload trucks at Hull's port, affording the city with a nickname "the gateway to Europe." However this is a city where 67 percent of the people voted to leave the European Union in 2016.

Working to counter the anti-Brexit mood in Hull is campaign group Best for Britain, founded by Gina Miller and led by Eloise Todd, its chief executive.

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Todd told Hull Daily Mail: "We want to let people know that the decision to leave hasn't been taken yet and we have this decision point coming up. The Government had a mandate to negotiate but not to sign off the deal — that's for our parliament to do."

Banksy may have put Hull back on the UK's map, meanwhile, a leaked report from the British government revealing the UK economy will grow more slowly outside the European Union is dominating the UKs news agenda. 

READ MORE: Covert Gov't Report Reveals Brexit to Hurt UK Regardless of Scenarios

The document 'EU Exit Analysis — Cross Whitehall Briefing' seen by Buzzfeed suggests UK growth would be five percent lower over the next 15 years compared to current forecasts.

However Conservative MP and leave campaigner Iain Duncan Smith told British media the paper should be taken "with a pinch of salt."

"It's an incomplete report…deliberately leaked because it gives a bad view."

Banksy, the Bristol born guerilla artist is no stranger to controversy and painting political points. In 2017, Banksy adorned a wall in Dover with the European Flag complete with a workman chipping away at one of the 12 stars. 

READ MORE: UK Artist Banksy Chips in on Brexit

In 2015, Banksy shipped his Dismaland Bermusement Park to the 'Jungle Migrant Camp' over the English Channel and painted 'The Raft of the Medusa'  in Calais before heading to the streets of Paris to stencil his view of social injustice.