Protesters in Bristol have pulled down a controversial statue of a 17th century slave trader
Protests have been taking place across the UK in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, which started in the US following the death of George Floyd.The bronze memorial to Edward Colston, situated in Bristol city centre since 1895, was torn down after crowds left College Green.Images showed crowds rushing to stamp on the statue, which stood in Colston Avenue.
According to Historic England, the statue was sculpted by John Cassidy, of Manchester, with an inscription that read "erected by citizens of Bristol as a memorial of one of the most virtuous and wise sons of their city AD 1895". Yesterday, thousands of protesters had gathered in central London in a demonstration that was peaceful but that ended with small numbers of people clashing with mounted police near Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Downing Street residence.
After an hour, the protesters began to march across the river in the direction of parliament, pausing on the bridge to take the knee and chant "justice, now". Some gathered in Parliament Square while others massed outside Downing Street.
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