A man has denied criminal damage after a statue of former prime minister Sir Winston Churchill was defaced with graffiti.

Words including "Zionist war criminal", "Stop the Genocide" and "Free Palestine" were sprayed in red paint on the bronze sculpture in Parliament Square in Westminster.

Further slogans such as "Never again is Now" and "Globalise the Intifada" were also scrawled across the monument.

Caspar San Giorgio, 38, of no fixed address, was arrested just after 4am on Friday, police said.

He was charged with criminal damage in the early hours of Saturday.

The 38-year-old appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday wearing a grey T-shirt and joggers.

When asked to confirm his name, he said it is Olax Outis, but his solicitor Katie McFadden, added it is Caspar San Giorgio on his passport.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the single charge of criminal damage.

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He is accused of damaging the statue to the value of £11,970, the court heard.

Judge Caroline Jackson remanded him in custody and told him the next hearing will be at Southwark Crown Court on 30 March.

The 12ft-tall statue on the north-east corner of the square was unveiled in 1973 by the former prime minister's wife, Lady Clementine Churchill, and was created by Ivor Roberts-Jones.

It is one of 12 statues on or around Parliament Square, most of well-known statesmen such as Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln.