The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has said that the capital cities landmarks will be urgently reviewed after protesters tore down a statue of Edward Colston in Bristol in a bid to ensure they reflect the capital’s diversity.
The news comes after the words “was a racist” were also scrawled in black paint on the Sir Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square in the protests last weekend along with other things.
One criminal even tried to light the Union Flag on the Cenotaph on fire but this was quickly stopped when police moved in.
Khan’s office said London is “one of the most diverse cities in the world”, but recent Black Lives Matter protests have highlighted that the city’s statues, plaques and street names largely reflect Victorian Britain.
The Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm will review the city’s landmarks – including murals, street art, street names, statues and other memorials – and consider which legacies should be celebrated before making recommendations.
Mr Khan said: “It is an uncomfortable truth that our nation and city owes a large part of its wealth to its role in the slave trade and while this is reflected in our public realm, the contribution of many of our communities to life in our capital has been wilfully ignored.
“This cannot continue.
“We must ensure that we celebrate the achievements and diversity of all in our city, and that we commemorate those who have made London what it is – that includes questioning which legacies are being celebrated.
“The Black Lives Matter protests have rightly brought this to the public’s attention, but it’s important that we take the right steps to work together to bring change and ensure that we can all be proud of our public landscape.”
The commission that will be co-chaired by Debbie Weekes-Bernard, the deputy mayor for social integration, social mobility and community engagement, and deputy mayor for culture and creative industries Justine Simons – will include historians as well as arts, council and community leaders.
However many members of the public have already voiced their concerns over the removal of any of the United Kingdoms statues or historical landmarks, after outrange from across the United Kingdom as the scenes were aired on social media of the BLM ‘protests’ in London and Bristol tens of thousands of people joined a Facebook Group set up to defend British war memorials.
Prime Minister Johnson has said that those who harmed police or property would face “the full force of the law”.
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Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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