THE TOPPLING of a statue of a slave trader has reignited demands for the removal of other monuments to Britain’s colonial past, with further protests planned on Tuesday, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged anger at racial injustice.
Calls have mounted across the country for a reassessment of the way historical figures are portrayed in public spaces, as part of a wider debate about inequality and prejudice.
Britain has seen days of protests sparked by the death in police custody of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in the United States.
Johnson said he understood the “depth of emotion” triggered by Floyd’s death and the anger from black and ethnic minority groups about discrimination in education, employment and law.
“We who lead and who govern simply can’t ignore those feelings because in too many cases, I am afraid, they will be founded on a cold reality,” he said in a
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