Five members of Bristol statue ‘mob’ let off with cautions by police
FIVE members of the “mob” who tore down a statue of Edward Colston in Bristol have been let off with cautions by the police, despite the Home Secretary promising they would face justice.
The bronze memorial to the 17thcentury slave merchant was pulled down during a Black Lives Matter protest on June 7, before being dumped in Bristol Harbour.
No arrests were made and Avon and Somerset Police came in for criticism for failing to stop the criminal damage taking place. Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, said the actions of the “mob” were “indefensible hooliganism” and told the Commons that those responsible would face justice.
But Andy Marsh, the Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police, has revealed that five of those interviewed by police have only been given conditional cautions.
One person has been arrested, and the police have sent files on four of those responsible to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision.
Mr Marsh defended his force’s approach to the case, insisting that they had carried out a robust investigation,
He said: “The law was broken, it was an act of criminal damage. Fortunately, as far as I’m concerned, it was one crime, one act of damage in an event that carried a significant amount of risk for Bristol and the community. We’ve rolled our sleeves up, got on with the investigation.”
He added: “We’ve now interviewed nine people. One of them has been arrested, the other eight have voluntarily attended. We propose to send four of the individual cases to the Crown Prosecution Service to make a charging decision. We’ve offered the lawyers for the other five the opportunity for restorative justice.
“We propose they will pay a fine and do some acts to make good their crime. If they refuse to take that – and they’ll have a week to make their mind up – then they will be added to the four that are going to the Crown Prosecution
Service.” Police previously said that a 24-year-old man from Eastleigh, Hampshire, had been arrested in connection with the incident. Officers also arrested a 27-year-old man, who was later released with no further action taken.
Speaking in the Commons after the incident, Ms Patel said: “It is not for mobs to tear down statues and cause criminal damage in our streets. To the criminal minority who have subverted this cause with their thuggery, I simply say this, ‘Your behaviour is shameful, and you will face justice’.”