Stolen Churchill portrait which was swapped with forgery returns to Canada

Yousuf Karsh’s 1941 portrait of Sir Winston Churchill, which he gifted to the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, is seen after being unveiled at the hotel following its theft and return, in Ottawa, Ontario (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)

A stolen portrait of Sir Winston Churchill that was swapped with a forgery during the pandemic has returned to its rightful place, after two Canadian police detectives travelled to Rome to retrieve it.

Police said The Roaring Lion was stolen from the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa sometime between Christmas Day 2021 and January 6 2022 and replaced with a forgery.