Highgate Cemetery’s Karl Marx monument ‘mindlessly vandalised’

The Karl Marx monument, located in London’s Highgate Cemetery has been “mindlessly vandalised” according to a spokesperson at the cemetery.

A marble plaque which supports the statues base was damaged, seemingly with a hammer, however a cemetery spokesperson has said it is not known for sure what happened or how it happened. So far the cemetery says no witnesses have come forward.

Ian Dungavell, CEO at the Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust, said: “This is mindless vandalism, not political commentary. I’m really sad that it’s happened in such an inarticulate way. You don’t have to be a Marxist to think this is an important monument.”

The Met police has said it has closed the investigation following initial inquiries, unless further information arises. The sculpture is owned by the Marx Grave Trust, with Dungavell saying that the cemetery would work alongside the trust in arranging its repair.

In 1970, part of the statue’s face was blown off by a pipe bomb, while other incidents of vandalism have seen swastikas drawn on it and emulsion thrown over it.