And finally… Monkey business

A Banksy painting depicting MPs in the House of Commons as chimpanzees has sold for nearly £9.9 million.

And finally... Monkey business

Devolved Parliament, Banksy

Auction organisers have said the sale is a record for the street artist.

The painting titled Devolved Parliament is four metres wide and was first unveiled as part of the Banksy’s exhibition, Banksy vs Bristol Museum in 2009.



The piece was auctioned at Sotheby’s in London this week and after 13 minutes of bidding, sold for £9,879,500.

The painting had a guide price of between £1.5-2m.

That price easily beats the previous auction record for a Banksy, which stood at $1.9m (£1.54m) after Keep It Spotless was sold at Sotheby’s in New York.

Sotheby’s said: “More than 10 determined bidders competed for the work over the course of a 13-minute battle, quintupling the pre-sale high estimate.”

Shortly after Devolved Parliament was sold, Banksy took to Instagram. He wrote: “Record price for a Banksy painting set at auction tonight. Shame I didn’t still own it.”

After Devolved Parliament went on display in March, Banksy wrote on Instagram: “Devolved Parliament. I made this 10 years ago. Bristol museum have just put it back on display to mark Brexit day. Laugh now, but one day no-one will be in charge.”

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