Durham County Council launches audit of statues and monuments after calls for national review of 'appropriateness'

Workers take down a statue of slave owner Robert Milligan at West India Quay, east London as Labour councils across England and Wales will begin reviewing monuments and statues in their towns and cities, after a protest saw anti-racism campaigners tear down a statue of a slave trader in Bristol. Picture by: Yui Mok/PA Wire

Protests inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement have seen statues of former slave traders pulled down in British cities, with more expected to be targeted.

The move followed calls for all UK local authorities to carry out similar evaluations of the ‘appropriateness of local monuments’.

Coun Simon Henig, leader of the county council, said: “We stand together with people and organisations across the world in rejecting racism, discrimination and prejudice in any form.

“We believe in equality and work closely with our partners and communities to maintain our county as a welcoming, inclusive and safe place for all.

“We are currently conducting an audit of all statues and monuments under our care to establish if any of these structures conflict with these principles.”

The statue of 17th Century slave trader Edward Colston was toppled by protestors in Bristol and thrown into the city’s harbour on Sunday June 7 following years of debate over whether it should be removed and what could replace it.

On June 9, a London council took the decision to remove a statue of slave owner Robert Milligan from its plinth in the capital’s docklands area.

The move came the same day Labour Party chiefs backed a review of public monuments maintained by councils.

A statement by the the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Labour group said: “LGA Labour have consulted with all Labour council leaders, and there is overwhelming agreement from all Labour councils that they will listen to and work with their local communities to review the appropriateness of local monuments and statues on public land and council property.”

The growing surge in support for the Black Lives Matter movement, which has sparked global protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, has seen a number of petitions emerge online demanding controversial monuments in the UK are taken down.

Towns and cities around the country have been considering what action, if any, they need to take over public and private monuments, statues and figures.

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