In the United Kingdom, they are convinced they have discovered the true identity of Banksy: but is it really him?

The identity of the most famous and elusive street artist in the world is once again capturing international attention. A new investigation by Reuters, titled "In Search of Banksy" and authored by journalists Simon Gardner, James Pearson, and Blake Morrison, adds elements to the long-standing enigma, linking the artist to the British Robin Gunningham.

The main new development from the work is the hypothesis that Gunningham later adopted the legal alias "David Jones".

The starting point of the reconstruction, relaunched by RaiNews on March 13, 2026, is the Ukraine marked by war. In the autumn of 2022, seven murals appeared among the ruins of the Kyiv region: a gymnast balancing in Borodyanka, a dancer in Irpin, some children on an anti-tank barrier in the capital, and a man bathing in a tub inside a gutted house in Horenka. The works were claimed by Banksy himself with a short video posted on Instagram on November 17, 2022, thus confirming their authorship and presence in a conflict area.

The reporters conducted thorough site visits and listened to residents, showing them photographs of various street artists — including Gunningham and the French Thierry Guetta — to gather any recognitions. They also cross-referenced data and compared frames from videos circulated on social media with old shots from Bristol.

To confirm their artistic and symbolic value, those Ukrainian murals were subsequently protected with anti-shatter glass and wireless alarm systems, to prevent theft and preserve a visual memory of the conflict.

The name of Robin Gunningham, born in Bristol in 1973, has long been associated with the figure of Banksy. As early as 2008, the "Mail on Sunday" had identified him as the main suspect. In 2016, some researchers from Queen Mary University of London applied "geographic profiling" — a technique developed in forensic contexts to identify the movements of serial criminals — to the distribution of works in London and Bristol, finding significant correlations with places linked to Gunningham.

To support this line, in 2023 a radio interview from the early 2000s resurfaced in which a voice, presented as that of Banksy, claimed that his birth name was "Robbie".

The alleged adoption of the name "David Jones" represents the most significant revelation of the Reuters dossier, resulting from careful archival work and source correlation. This alias could serve as an administrative shield to protect the artist's privacy, or it could be yet another clever diversion within a deliberately elusive biography.

Mark Stephens, lawyer for Banksy, has disputed the details of the investigation, reiterating the absolute centrality of pseudonymity, essential for satire to "speak truth to power" without exposing itself to retaliation. In the absence of an official statement from the person concerned, the mystery remains intact.

However, a substantial question remains open: would the eventual unveiling of the face behind the pseudonym alter the impact and perception of Banksy's work?