Protesters target Wimbledon over Barclays sponsorship links to arms firms


Pro-Palestinian campaigners have staged a protest outside the Wimbledon tennis championships over Barclaysโ€™ sponsorship, accusing the bank of complicity in alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Around two dozen demonstrators from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) gathered outside the main gates of the All England Club on Monday morning, just yards away from Centre Court.

They chanted: โ€œBarclays bank, you canโ€™t hide, we charge you with genocide,โ€ and held banners criticising the bankโ€™s alleged investments in defence companies linked to the Israeli military.

Damian McCarthy, 53, a lawyer and organiser with the PSC, told the PA news agency: โ€œIโ€™m a local resident โ€“ and a lot of people in Wimbledon think the genocide in Gaza is appalling.

โ€œWe want to raise awareness. Barclaysโ€™ investment in genocide is wrong.

โ€œItโ€™s not about Wimbledon, itโ€™s not about tennis, itโ€™s about the investment in genocide, and weโ€™ve got to stop it.โ€

An artist taking part in the protest unveiled an installation in memory of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old girl killed in Gaza in January 2024 after her familyโ€™s car was hit by an Israeli tank shell.

Barclays has been contacted for comment.

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