Black Lives Matter protesters in Bristol topple statue of slave trader Edward Colston

Luke O'Reilly9 June 2020

A statue of Edward Colston, a 17th-century slave trader, has been toppled in Bristol by Black Lives Matter protesters.

Video footage shows the statue being pulled down using a rope.

After it falls during the protests on Sunday people can be seen dancing atop the statue and cheering.

The statue was then taken to Bristol's harbour where it was subsequently tossed into the sea.

It comes as thousands of protesters gather across the UK to march against racism following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died while in police custody in Minneapolis.

Mr Floyd died after a police officer knelt on his neck for eight minutes. In tribute, protesters in Bristol knelt on the neck of Edward Colston for the same period of time.

Edward Colston was a merchant in the Royal African Company, which held a monopoly in England in the West African slave trade. During Colston's time at the company it is estimated to have transported around 84,000 African men women and children as slaves.

Colston was also a philanthropist in his native Bristol, and has a number of charitable foundations that survive to this day, including Colston's School.

The bronze memorial to Edward Colston had been situated in the city's centre since 1895

Prior to being torn down it was the the subject of an 11,000-strong petition to have it removed.

Earlier, protestor John McAllister, 71, tore down black bin bags used to hide the statue to denounce it in front of fellow protesters.

He said: “It says ‘erected by the citizens of Bristol, as a memorial to one of the most virtuous and wise sons of this city’.

“The man was a slave trader. He was generous to Bristol but it was off the back of slavery and it’s absolutely despicable. It’s an insult to the people of Bristol.”

Thousands of people marched through Bristol city centre to protest against the death of George Floyd.

A crowd of at least 5,000 people had earlier packed into the city’s College Green area to hear from speakers and hold an eight-minute silence to represent the time Mr Floyd was filmed on the ground during an arrest in Minnesota with a policeman kneeling on his neck.

Many protesters worse masks and gloves, but the majority were unable to adhere to the two-metre social distancing guidance and were pressed against one another in the city’s narrow streets.

Police have launched an investigation into the destruction of the statue.

No arrest were made, but officers are now said to be collating footage of a “small group of people” who were filmed pulling down the statue with ropes, which police say amounted to criminal damage.

Superintendent Andy Bennett said: “The vast majority of those who came to voice their concerns about racial inequality and injustice did so peacefully and respectfully.

“The ongoing coronavirus pandemic added a different dynamic to what was always going to be a challenging policing operation.”

He added: “However, there was a small group of people who clearly committed an act of criminal damage in pulling down a statue near Bristol Harbourside.

“An investigation will be carried out to identify those involved and we’re already collating footage of the incident.”

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