Banksy mural pulled from Miami auction

A Banksy mural at the centre of a controversial auction was withdrawn from sale at the eleventh hour.

Slave Labour, which shows a young boy hunched over a sewing machine making Union Jack bunting, appeared on a wall in Wood Green, north London, last May, just before the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

It disappeared from the side of the Poundland store last weekend and was due to be auctioned thousands of miles away in Miami on Saturday night, where it was expected to sell for up to £450,000.

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But a spokesman for auction house Fine Art Auctions Miami (FAAM) confirmed Slave Labour and Wet Dog, a second Banksy painting listed, had been withdrawn from sale. No reason was given.

Claire Kober, leader of Haringey Council, which has been campaigning for the artwork’s return to the UK, said: “We will continue to explore all options to bring back Banksy to the community where it belongs.”

It appeared that a starting bid of $400,000 (£262,450) had been made for the mural before the auction was halted.

FAAM owner Frederic Thut said he had been inundated with angry phone calls from the UK, but insisted that the artwork was not stolen.

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