Obama admits he DID remove bust of Churchill from the Oval Office and replace it with one of Martin Luther King... but insists he didn't mean to snub Britain

Barack Obama today admitted for the first time that he had removed a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office and replaced it with one of Martin Luther King.

The US President said that he took the scuplture of Britain's wartime leader out of his office, where it had been placed by George W. Bush, because the room was 'a little cluttered'.However, he also pointed out that he keeps a bust of Churchill outside his private office elsewhere in the White House, adding: 'I see it every day, including on weekends.'


The removal of the bust from the Oval Office has been a source of tension ever since Mr Obama came to power in January 2009, with some Britons seeing the move as a snub to the Special Relationships.

It has also become a hot topic in US politics, with a string of Republican leaders complaining about the decision and pledging to reverse it once the President leaves office.