No excuse for illegal actions of a mob

THE police are rightly investigating the vandals who tore down the statue of Edward Colston, intending to present the evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, which may lead to court cases for those involved.

Predictably, there has been protestations against any action being taken as a result of these investigations. In my opinion, the people who potentially committed a criminal act should be prosecuted; it was not their right to tear down a statue that had stood for over 100 years. By all means remove such statues and monuments to an abhorrent trade and traders, but it should be remembered that Colston was a man of his time and it is too easy to apply today’s values to history and find fault.

Mayor Marvin Rees said he would not miss the statue but did nothing to legally remove it; it took yet another despicable act in America before genuine and widespread action against racism started.

I’m not original in saying that we cannot, nor should not rewrite history and can only learn from it but none of this excuses the illegal actions of a mob.

Dave Chafer Yeovil, Somerset