Four people charged with criminal damage over toppling of Bristol's Edward Colston statue

Mirror
Thu, 10 Dec 2020 10:03 UTC

© Tom Wren SWNS.com

Edward Colston was a notorious slave trader

Four people have been charged with criminal damage over the toppling of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston.

Rhian Graham, 29, Milo Ponsford, 25, Jake Skuse, 32, and Sage Willoughby, 21, will all appear in court early next year following the incident in Bristol in June.

During a Black Lives Matter protest a large crowd of people gathered around the statue of Colston, a notorious slave trader.

Using ropes, the demonstrators pulled Colston down and rolled him into the water, to great cheers from onlookers.

For many years before the statue was taken off its plinth campaigners in Bristol and further afield have been calling for it to be removed.

Colston was a member of the Royal African Company, which transported about 80,000 men, women and children from Africa to the Americas.

On his death in 1721, he bequeathed his wealth to charities and his legacy can still be seen on Bristol's streets, memorials and buildings.

Following the toppling Avon and Somerset Police said a decision was taken not to intervene when it became clear the statue was coming down.

No arrests were made at the time of the the incident, but the force launched an investigation while the topping sparked a world wide debate about controversial historical monuments should be treated.

Six men were previously fined £100 for their part in the toppling after accepting a conditional caution.

The Crown Prosecution Service today said it authorised the new charges after reviewing a file of evidence compiled by Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

A CPS spokesperson said today: "Four people have been charged with criminal damage after a statue of Edward Colston was damaged in Bristol City Centre on 7 June 2020.

"Rhian Graham, 29, Milo Ponsford, 25, Jake Skuse, 32, and Sage Willoughby, 21, will appear at Bristol Magistrates' Court on 25 January 2021 for their first hearing.

"The CPS authorised the charges following a review of a file of evidence from Avon and Somerset Police."

© Bristol Live

A statue of Darth Vader was put on the empty plinth

The statue of Colston was fished out of the harbour four days after it was thrown in and is due to be placed in one of the city's museums.

At the beginning of this month a Darth Vader statue was placed onto the empty plinth after actor Dave Prowse, who played the character and was born in Bristol, died.

Comment: As noted above, the police stood down during the countrywide BLM protests and riots whereas when peaceful protests were organised against the lockdown, the police have charged the crowds and fined an organiser £10,000. This and other actions by the authorities reflects that the suspect BLM organisation is, at times, an asset to the establishment; after all, a recent poll shows that the BLM protests actually increased racial tensions in the country:

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