Winston Churchill was a villain, says John McDonnell This article is more than 5 years old Shadow chancellor condemns wartime PM over his role in quelling of 1910 riots in Wales https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/13/winston-churchill-was-more-villain-than-hero-says-john-mcdonnell Mattha Busby Wed 13 Feb 2019 16.03 EST

The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, has said that Winston Churchill was a villain rather than a hero, because of his role in the quelling of rioting in a south Wales town.

When asked at an event organised by Politico in London on Wednesday whether the wartime British prime minister was a hero or a villain, McDonnell replied: “Tonypandy. Villain”.

He was referring to the incident in the south Wales town in November 1910 when one miner was killed and about 580 people, including 80 policemen, were injured after Churchill, the then home secretary, sent 200 Metropolitan police officers with a detachment of Lancashire Fusiliers held in reserve in Cardiff to stop riots that erupted after police attempted to break the miners’ picket line.

The soldiers were eventually deployed, although it has been long disputed whether Churchill personally sanctioned the decision. Churchill nonetheless remained deeply unpopular in the south Wales valleys and within the Labour party.