NELSON DEFILED
Quango that’s supposed to PROTECT our nation’s statues tweets images of wrecking ball smashing famous column
THE taxpayer-funded quango that protects the nation’s monuments has promoted a cartoon of Nelson’s Column being destroyed by a wrecking ball.
Historic England, which receives tens of millions of pounds of public money, triggered a backlash by trying to promote a debate about memorials to famous figures entitled: ‘Revere or Remove?’
It appears the image on Twitter was inspired by Left- wing writer and Guardian commentator Afua Hirsch, who wrote an article last year under the headline, ‘Toppling statues? Here’s why Nelson’s column should be next.’
Miss Hirsch, the author of a memoir about her experience of racism in Britain, entitled Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging, is one of the panellists at the debate. She said Nelson was a ‘white supremacist’ who ‘vigorously defended’ slavery.
But the wrecking-ball image led to an angry backlash from MPs and the public, who accused the quango of encouraging the destruction of popular monuments and of trying to ‘rewrite history’. Arts minister Michael Ellis demanded that Historic England ‘champion the nation’s precious heritage’.
He said: ‘ Historic England receives taxpayers’ money to protect and champion the nation’s precious heritage and that is exactly what they must do. Our statues and historic buildings tell the stories of our past, and they must be protected.’
It is understood he will raise the issue with the quango.
Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said the graphic – which was tweeted with the caption ‘what should we do with controversial statues and memorials?’ – flouted Historic England’s own charter which says it must ‘minimise the loss’ of historic assets.
Ukip MEP Patrick O’Flynn said it was ‘ unreal that a publicly funded heritage quango should be stoking a divisive agenda backed only by a tiny minority of PC Guardianistas’. The quango, which received £86.57 million from the Government last year, faced an angry response on Twitter.
One user wrote: ‘Stop pandering to PC rubbish and protect our history, good and bad. If you do not, you should close down.’
Another said: ‘You should not seek to “rectify” the past. This is a slippery slope. Statues and monuments were constructed in a historical context. If they are now “controversial” to some, we should seek to learn why. Not remove, eradicate, and rewrite our history. Enough is enough.’
Others posted images of Islamic State, which destroyed ancient monuments in Iraq and Syria.
Three years ago an Oxford college was accused of trying to ‘destroy history’ after it agreed to remove a plaque dedicated to 19thcentury colonialist and founder of Rhodesia, Cecil Rhodes.
Similar campaigns have targeted statues to 17th-century merchant Edward Colston in Bristol because he was a slave trader. Last night Historic England backed down, admitting the image had ‘caused some concern’ and saying it would not use it again.
A spokesman insisted the quango did not support demolishing Nelson’s Column, adding: ‘Nelson’s Column was chosen because it is so iconic and well recognised.
‘This does not mean we are in favour of demolition of any monument and the debate is not about Nelson’s Column itself. It is about how the nation responds to criticism of our public statues and monuments and what they are thought to represent. (It) was intended to get this across in a quick and memorable way but we know it has caused some concern so we won’t be sharing it again.’
Duncan Wilson, the quango’s chief executive, was paid £120,000 to £125,000 last year, plus a bonus of up to £20,000 and pension payments worth nearly £50,000.
‘Stop pandering to PC rubbish’