Council to review its statues and monuments
Bosses at Durham County Council have confirmed they are carrying out a review of all their statues and public monuments.
Protests inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement have seen statues of former slave traders pulled down in British cities, with more expected to be targeted.
The move followed calls for all UK local authorities to carry out similar evaluations of the ‘appropriateness of local monuments’.
Coun Simon Henig, leader of the county council, said: “We stand together with people and organisations across the world in rejecting racism, discrimination and prejudice in any form.
“We believe in equality and work closely with our partners and communities to maintain our county as a welcoming, inclusive and safe place for all.
“We are currently conducting an audit of all statues and monuments under our care to establish if any of these structures conflict with these principles.”
The statue of 17th Century slave trader Edward Colston was toppled by protestors in Bristol and thrown into the city’s harbour on Sunday June 7 following years of debate over whether it should be removed and what could replace it.
On June 9, a London council took the decision to remove a statue of slave owner Robert Milligan from its plinth in the capital’s docklands area.
The move came the same day Labour Party chiefs backed a review of public monuments maintained by councils.
The growing surge in support for the Black Lives Matter movement has seen a number of petitions emerge online demanding controversial UK monuments are taken down.