Could Banksy be a member of Massive Attack?

We’ve all seen his epic stencils and graffiti, but just who is the artist known as Banksy?

Investigative journalist Craig Williams reckons he’s cracked the case, claiming that Massive Attack founding member Robert ‘3D’ Del Naja is in fact Banksy.

As well as being a member of the pioneering trip-hop group – who make a big return to their hometown of Bristol tomorrow in front of 27,000 fans – Del Naja is already a renowned graffiti artist and known to be a pal of Banksy’s.

But has he been having us on all along by leading a double life as the world’s most famous street doodler?

Robin Gunnigham has long been thought to be the man behind the stencils, but Williams says that Banksy is not just one person, but a group of people – and he has proof that Del Naja is one of them, linking his movements over a period of seven years to a number of Banksy pieces around the world.

As reported by The Sun, Williams is quoted as saying: "Perhaps the assertion then that Banksy is just one person is wide of the mark, instead being a group who have, over the years, followed Massive Attack around and painted walls at their leisure.

"And perhaps, at the head of such a group we have Del Naja. A multi-disciplined artist in front of one the seminal groups in recent British music history, doubling up as the planet's most revered street artist. Now that would be cool."

Among the pieces Williams links to Del Naja are six murals in San Francisco, which popped up in 2010 after Massive Attack played two nights there, further murals in Toronto after the band played there the following week, and stencils across New Orleans after Del Naja worked on the soundtrack for Hurricane Katarina docTrouble The Water.

Irrefutable proof, pure coincidence, or conspiracy theory twaddle?

There’s certainly a Bristol connection between the artists and band, with both making their name in the Nineties as part of the city’s counterculture scene – and Williams expects a new Banksy piece to appear in Bristol following this weekend’s big gig.

The proof could be in the paint.

Photo Credit: REX