Famous Winston Churchill bust that Joe Biden removed from Oval Office now displayed in a private dining room

A bust of Sir Winston Churchill which has been missing since 2021 has been sitting in Joe Biden’s private dining room, it has emerged.

The bust, by Jacob Epstein, was replaced in the Oval Office with one of Robert Kennedy following the US President’s 2021 inauguration.

The location of the Churchill bust had been unclear since, with the White House not revealing its whereabouts.

A photograph released the week showed it is now in the Private Dining Room off the Oval Office.

It is surrounded by family photographs, including one of Mr Biden’s late son, Beau Biden, who died from brain cancer in 2015.

New presidents are allowed to choose how to decorate the Oval Office, with control over which busts and paintings should be there.

Busts of Churchill have been prominent features of the Oval Office when occupied by more recent Republican presidents such as George W. Bush and Donald Trump.

Under Democrat presidents, however, other historical figures have taken precedent, such as Martin Luther King Jr during Barack Obama’s administration.

The bust had been seen in previous years as an indicator of the status of the “special relationship”.

Some speculation has suggested the release of the photograph, with the bust in the middle of the frame, was intended as a signal of solidarity with the UK.

The US recently praised Britain’s decision to send tanks to Ukraine, making them the first ally to do so.

Reported progress on the Northern Ireland Protocol has also been welcomed across the pond by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who said he was “heartened” by the “substantive progress” shown.

Biden is hopeful the issue will be resolved before the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in April.