FIND THESE WRECKERS
Police pictures of protesters who ‘toppled Colston statue’
IMAGES of protesters accused of pulling down the statue of slave trader Edward Colston have been released by police.
CCTV footage of 15 suspects forms part of a criminal damage investigation after the monument to the 17th century figure was torn from its plinth and pushed into Bristol harbour.
The Black Lives Matter demonstration earlier this month forced an unprecedented review of statues to controversial historic figures.
Detective Superintendent Liz Hughes, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: ‘ The incident attracted worldwide attention and there’s no denying it has polarised public opinion – but in the eyes of the law a crime has been committed and we’re duty-bound to investigate this without fear or favour.’
It was initially feared no protesters who pulled down the statue on June 7 would be prosecuted as it was not clear who owned it. However police, having sought advice from the CPS have now launched a criminal damage investigation and identified 18 suspects – with 15 yet to be traced.
Det Supt Hughes added: ‘Despite every effort being made to identify the remaining people we’d like to talk to, we still don’t know who they are which is why we’re now releasing images of them in the hope the public can help.’
Bristol mayor Marvin Rees said he believed the Colston statue was outdated, but could not condone criminal damage. He added: ‘I am of Jamaican heritage and I cannot pretend ... it was anything other than a personal affront to me to have it in the middle of Bristol.’
The statue was later retrieved from the harbour. Two days after it fell, a monument to slaveholder Robert Milligan was removed from the London Docklands.
Liverpool University then said it would rename a hall of residence dedicated to 19th century Prime Minister William Gladstone, whose father was one of the biggest slaveholders in the West Indies. Last week Oxford University’s Oriel College voted to remove a statue of Cecil Rhodes, who believed in white supremacy.
Yesterday the Justice Secretary branded laws preventing the desecration of war memorials, religious headstones and statues ‘inadequate’.
Robert Buckland opened a Cabinet split as he said it ‘cannot be right’ that a vandal who destroys a series of headstones could be sentenced to only three months in prison. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, he said he was ‘appalled’ to see images of violence and vandalism at recent protests. His comments come days after Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warned against tough sentences, saying: ‘You shouldn’t be martyred because you’re just an idiot.’ Backbenchers will present a proposed Desecration of War Memorials Bill this week. MPs have called for jail terms of up to ten years. Anyone with information on the Colston photographs is asked to call 101 or contact Crimestoppers.