The mural, depicting a scene from the Quentin Tarantino movie Pulp Fiction in which Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta are holding bananas instead of guns, was spray-painted on the side of an electricity substation around five years ago.
It became one of the most famous graffiti paintings by Banksy, a reclusive artist whose work has attracted star-studded buyers including Angelina Jolie and Jude Law.
Transport for London, whose workers white-washed the mural near London's Old Street tube station earlier this month, was unapologetic, saying its policy was to remove all graffiti that created an atmosphere of "neglect and social decay".
"We recognise that there are those who view Banksy's work as legitimate art, but sadly our graffiti removal teams are staffed by professional cleaners not professional art critics," it said in a statement."
Twats.
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