By Eric King-
Avon and Somerset Police have launched a criminal damage investigation into the destruction of the statute of Edward Colston- a slave trader who was also a member of parliament in the 17th century.
The announcement comes as Bristol’s police chief defended its decision not to intervene when protesters attacked the statute which has been situated there since 1895.
The damaged statue was likely to be placed in a museum alongside placards from the march that were laid around the Colston plinth, British Mayor Marvin Rees said.
Chief constable Andy Marsh said that had his officers intervened to arrest those responsible there would have been a “very violent confrontation”.
“To arrest suspects would likely to lead to injuries to suspects, injuries to officers, and people who were not involved in damaging property being thrown into a very violent confrontation with the police that could have had serious ramifications for the city of Bristol and beyond,” Mr Marsh said.
“Can you imagine scenes of police in Bristol fighting with protesters who were damaging the statue of a man who is reputed to have gathered much of his fortune through the slave trade?
“I think there would have been very serious implications and whilst I certainly do not condone crime or damage of any sort, I fully support the actions of my officers.
“They responded with common sense, sound judgment and in the best interest of public safety.”John Apter, the chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, criticised the force for not intervening, telling the BBC it “sent quite a negative message”.
Downing Street described the incident as a “criminal act” and said the “democratic process should be followed”.
“People can campaign for the removal of a statue but what happened yesterday was a criminal act and when the criminal law is broken that is unacceptable and the police will want to hold to account those responsible,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.
Home Secretary Priti Patel described the incident as “utterly disgraceful”, while crime, policing and justice minister Kit Malthouse called for those responsible to be prosecuted.
Speaking on LBC, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was “completely wrong” for the statue to be pulled down in that way.
But he added: “You can’t, in 21st century Britain, have a slaver on a statue – a statue is there to honour people.
“That statue should have been brought down properly with consent and put, I would say, in a museum.”
Merchant And Member Of Parliament
Edward Coulston was an English merchant, slave trader, Tory Member of Parliament, and philanthropist. Born in Bristol to a family of merchants that had lived in the city since the 1340s, he became a merchant, initially trading in wine, fruits and cloth, mainly in Spain, Portugal and other European ports.
Much of his wealth was used to support schools hospitals, almshouses and churches in Bristol, London and elsewhere.
He was shopping goods from London in the 1670’s, and built up a lucrative business, trading cloth, oil, wine, sherry and fruit with Spain, Portugal, Italy and Africa.
He was a member of the Royal African Company that company transported around 84,000 African men, women and children, who had been traded as slaves in West Africa,
In 1680, Colston became a member of the Royal African Company, which had held the monopoly in England on trading along the west coast of Africa in gold, silver, ivory and slaves from 1662