British PM Boris Johnson defends Churchill and terms removing of statues 'distortion of our history'

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has termed the ongoing row over the removal of statues of historical figures as a "distortion of our history".

"If we start purging the record and removing the images of all but those whose attitudes conform to our own, we are engaged in a great lie, a distortion of our history," Johnson wrote in The Telegraph.

Boris Johnson also defended the former prime minister Winston Churchill and said it was "absurd and deplorable" that the monument was in danger.

"He was a hero, and I expect I am not alone in saying that I will resist with every breath in my body any attempt to remove that statue from Parliament Square, and the sooner his protective shielding comes off the better," he said.

Meanwhile, authorities in London have boarded up the statue ahead of expected rival demonstrations by anti-racism and far-right protestors.

A protective plywood screen has been erected around Churchill's statue outside Parliament. Authorities also fenced off the nearby Cenotaph, a memorial to Britain's war dead.

Monuments have become a major focus of contention in demonstrations sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes.

Several other statues have been defaced around the country.