Banksy says detention of his migrant rescue boat in Italy is "vile and unacceptable" 

British street artist Banksy has hit back at the UK's home secretary James Cleverly and other right-wing politicians in Europe after Cleverly called his latest artwork, which sheds light on the migrant crisis, "vile" and "unacceptable."

The art piece in question saw Banksy deliver a small boat filled with migrant dummies in orange life jackets which was hoisted above the crowd and passed around by festival-goers during several performances at Glastonbury last week.

The ship appeared on Friday during a performance by Bristol punk outfit IDLES during their track 'Danny Nedelko', which begins with the lyrics, "My blood brother is an immigrant, a beautiful immigrant."

Banksy took to Instagram on Wednesday, the eve of the UK elections, to post an image of Louise Michel, a search-and-rescue boat he funded that saved scores of people trying to make the dangerous crossing to Europe from North Africa in response to the comments made by the UK home secretary.

"The home secretary called my Glastonbury boat 'vile and unacceptable', which seemed a bit over the top," Banksy wrote alongside the image.

"The real boat I fund, the MV Louise Michel, rescued 17 unaccompanied children from the central Med last night," he added, "As punishment, the Italian authorities have detained it—which seems vile and unacceptable to me."

The MV Louise Michel was previously detained in March 2023 in Italy, where it was impounded—and later released—by the Italian authorities as a part of the government's efforts to address the surge in Mediterranean crossings.

Cleverly has been vocal about immigration in the lead-up to the UK election, which is anticipated to result in a Labour landslide victory. The right-wing politician recently visited Lampedusa, where he commended the work of his Italian counterpart, Matteo Piantedosi, the interior minister in the current Italian government.

 

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