is that for real Pirate?

How would they know they caught him, no one knows what he looks like.

I just googled it, and it would appear to be so.

Feel quite sad about it - I liked the enigma of Banksy

i think its real

ive read it on a few sites

yeah enigma-thats the word

Still, now he's been un-masked he can enjoy the fame he has gained down the years.

Oooo! 

Where did he desecrate this time? 

The police station.

Awww

LOL! That's not for real surely? 

UPDATE 5:The story appears to have been a massive troll.

UPDATE 3: Anonymous tweeted the story

UPDATE 4: The PRlog story seems to stem from this BBC article detailing the February 8 arrest of a man believed to be Banksy.

Phew!! I really didn't want it to be true

Oh that's good then....

First posted here http://www.prlog.org/press-release-error.html

Anonymous Operations‏@Anon_Central

London Police say #Banksy’s real name is Paul William Horner, a 39-year old male born in Bristol, England. | http://www.prlog.org/12085513-banksy-arrested-in-london-identity-revealed.html…

but this is 'Gay Bobbies'

An arresting image: Banksy's painting of two policemen  kissing which is daubed on the side of a Brighton pub could fetch up to £1million at auction in New York.

.

Nah, I made that up for comic effect, but it would be brilliant if it was real.

is banksy a bloke then?  could be a woman ... if no one knows who it is [someone does I bet] then it could be either sex

It's meeeee! Tsk, have you not noticed that I've got one of my pantings as my avi

 Oops!

They said a Bansky painting went missing from the side of a building and is now being auctioned off in Miami...my question is, how in the name of jesus can a Banksy painting that was on the side of a building...go missing?

Does that mean the side of the building went missing too.?

I heard it was a Poundshop too which is funny 

Maybe it was that woman who didn't like working there for nothing, took it with her at dead of night as her payment.

But seriously, maybe im being thick here, but how did they get the painting off the building and to Miami to be auctioned.? 

 I wondered that too..... and how the heck do you ship a whole wall

Yes, that tickled me too Rosie

Prolly was a copy 

Bah, then it's a fake, not the original.

Thats what im wondering.

No, I don't think it's copy.... I'm sure I heard it had been authenticated etc.....

But if someone does spend several hundred thousand dollars how the heck could you display it 

The painting is probably worth more than everything in the Poundshop, including the building itself.

ROFL Yes..... but it would bring a whole new meaning to hanging a painting on your wall, wouldn't it

Outraged art fans have been bombarding the  U.S. auction house handling the sale of a Banksy artwork that was gouged from a  wall in North London with abusive calls and e-mails.

Details of the backlash emerged after a stencil of a rat holding a sign that reads 'Why?' appeared on the Haringey wall, next to the blank spot where 'Slave Labour' used to be.

It is thought the rat could be the reclusive  graffiti artist's way of voicing his verdict on the row over his original piece,  which depicted a child labourer sewing Union Jack bunting and appeared on the  wall ahead of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

New addition: It is thought the reclusive graffiti  artist is behind the stencil of a rat that has appeared next to the blank spot  where Slave Labour used to be

'Why?' The artist appeared to vent his feelings on the  row

It is expected to sell for around £450,000.

Frederic Thut, owner of Fine Art Auctions  Miami, insists the sale of the artwork is legitimate, but admitted he had been  inundated with angry phone calls and e-mails from the UK.

'It's been said that the artwork was stolen,  and that's just not true,' Mr Thut told the Guardian.

'We take a lot of care with our consignors:  who they are, what they do, and if there's any illegality we will not touch  it.'

The street art was stencilled onto the side  of a Poundland shop in Wood Green in 2012 and protected by a perspex screen, but  disappeared last week.

The Metropolitan Police have confirmed they  were contacted by authorities in the U.S. regarding the Banksy piece. They were  advised that there had been no reports of theft, Scotland Yard  said.

U.S. officials had waded into the row after  the disappearance prompted a storm of outrage by furious Haringey businesses and  residents, the Evening Standard reported.

Mr Thut claimed it is being sold by a  'well-known' collector who  is not British, but has refused to divulge any more  information. He added  that the painting was being stored in Europe.

Locals are furious about the painting being  taken from the wall.

Councillor Alan Strickland says the artwork  was a 'gift' to his community and has instigated a  campaign to get the artwork  returned by urging people to e-mail the U.S. auction website.

He said:  'The Banksy appeared last May and  created lots of excitement in the area- people were coming from across London to  see it.

'We were really proud to have a Banksy in our  neighbourhood, so residents were shocked to realise it had been  ripped out of  the wall.

Treasured: The mural, called Slave Labour, was removed  from the wall and is set to be sold at auction in Miami

Fury: Locals in Haringey are upset that a piece of free  art is to be sold for profit

'The community feels that this art was given  to us, for free, and it's now been taken away to be sold for huge profit. I'm  very angry about the Banksy going - we want our Banksy back!'

Much of the controversial artist's work is  believed to have a political message, and Slave Labour is believed to be a  statement on sweatshops churning out decorations and memorabilia ahead of the  Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympics.

In 2008 the graffiti artist Banksy revealed  that millions of pounds worth of works attributed to him were fakes.

A body set up by the artist to verify his  work identified 226 falsely attributed pieces in eight months in  2008.

He said at the time:'Graffiti art has a hard  enough life as it is  -  with council workers wanting to remove it and  kids wanting to draw moustaches on it, before you add hedgefund managers wanting  to chop it out and hang it over the fireplace.

'For the sake of keeping all street art where  it belongs I'd encourage people not to buy anything by anybody unless it was  created for sale in the first place.'

ous

Thanks Erinp Maybe Banksy himself *pinched * it

Oooo! there's a new take on it 

"Mr Thut claimed it is being sold by a  'well-known' collector who  is not British, but has refused to divulge any more  information."

So why isn't this 'well-known' person not clearing up the mystery?

well... someone knows who he is..

or they have his bank details anyway...   cos whenever I process one of his  in an auction(that's my job) its subject to Artist Resale Rights...  in other words - he gets a commission on it every time it is resold 

I love his stuff..   & Soops..   I love Girl with a Balloon, I had noticed it was your avi.. 

I have nail art decals of Girl with a Balloon