John Wilkes

This is a statue of John Wilkes (1725-1797). It is in Fetter Lane, off Fleet Street in central London. The proximity to Fleet Street is very appropriate as John Wilkes was a radical journalist in his younger years publishing a satirical weekly, The North Briton. Issue no. 45 so annoyed King George lll that he had Wilkes arrested. Wilkes was an MP and claimed parliamentary privilege. The Lord Chief Justice found for Wilkes and he returned to Parliament in triumph. Appropriate also, then, that the statue is in "Legal London" with the Rolls Building (inset picture), home of the Business and Property Courts, close by.