Watch the moment statue of slave trader Edward Colston hauled out of harbour

11 June 2020, 07:10 | Updated: 11 June 2020, 07:23

Statue of Edward Colston removed from water in Bristol

Watch as the controversial statue of slave-trader Edward Colston is hauled out of a harbour in Bristol after being topped and dumped by anti-racism campaigners.

On Thursday a spokesperson for Bristol City Council said the statue would be " taken to a secure location before later forming part of our museums collection."

They said the statue needed to be removed from the water as the city runs a "working harbour."

The statue of slave trader Edward Colston was toppled from its plinth in Bristol on Sunday, authorities across the country have faced calls to remove other tributes to controversial figures in the wake of the action.

On Wednesday, Bristol's mayor Marvin Rees announced that a new research commission would provide "more accuracy" to the city's history, including the impact of "wars, protests, slavery and freedom".

Meanwhile, the vice-chancellor of London Metropolitan University said it has dropped the name of 17th century merchant Sir John Cass from its Art, Architecture and Design School in recognition of "the enormous pain he caused as a major figure in the early development of the slave trade".

Campaigners have also called on Newcastle University to change the name of one its buildings named after Victorian industrialist Lord Armstrong who sold weapons to both sides in the US Civil War.

He has been accused of supporting white supremacy by arming the Confederates as well as the Unionists.

Over in Chatham, Kent, intensive care nurse Jacqui Berry has started a petition to get a statue of Lord Kitchener on horseback pulled down.

She argued the "racist" memorial to Kitchener, who was appointed Secretary of State for War when the First World War broke out, should be removed due to use of scorched earth policy and concentration camps while serving as an army officer in Sudan and South Africa.