Churchill family criticises straitjacket statue

LONDON, Mar 11 (Reuters) Mental health charity Rethink defended its statue of the wartime leader Winston Churchill wearing a straitjacket today, saying they commissioned it to highlight the stigma of the illness.

The charity said they commissioned the nine-foot-high statue to raise awareness as Churchill suffered bouts of depression.

Churchill's grandson Nicholas Soames, a Conservative MP, labelled it insulting and pathetic.

''We did it to start a debate about the discrimination that is faced by people with severe mental illness,'' Paul Corry, the Rethink director of campaigns told Reuters.

''This is about Churchill as an iconic British figure ... who has actually achieved an enormous amount despite having a mental illness.

''What we are doing is symbolising the fact that many people today are being denied the opportunity to achieve and to live fulfilling lives because of the straitjacket of discrimination that they face.'' Corry said they had contacted the Churchill Family Estate who said they were not happy with the statue and pointed out that Churchill had never been formally diagnosed with having a mental illness.

Soames told the Sun newspaper he was disappointed by the stunt.

''This is probably a good cause in search of publicity and they have let some idiot ruin their case. It is grossly offensive to Sir Winston and his millions of admirers.'' The statue is currently on display in Norwich, eastern England, and may be sent to other cities at a later date, the charity said.

REUTERS CH PM1658