Mr Williams said, "I am a great admirer of Bansky's art and have seen examples both in Bristol and London. His murals are known all over the world and he is one of my most famous constituents. To equate his murals with graffiti would be ludicrous."
Cllr Mark Wright (Lib Dem, Cabot) who launched the petition said "The vast majority of people can see the difference between street-art and mere vandalism. For as long as residents continue to support the Banksy art it should stay. Why should the Council remove something, at significant expense, that most people enjoy and want to stay? What a waste of money that would be".
Cllr Gary Hopkins, Executive Member for Environment and Community Safety said "After the Banksy work appeared the Council consulted to see if people wanted it to stay or go. The results came back that 97% of people wanted it to stay. I have spoken to planning, arts and tourism representatives and they are all happy for the work to remain. Cllr Murphy's call to remove the Banksy work because it is on a listed building, flies in the face of public opinion and shows how out of touch he and his party are. I welcome this petition and hope that it will help keep Murphy, rather than Banksy, at bay".
