A senior Conservative councillor in Bristol has described slave trader Edward Colston as a “hero”, and the toppling of his statue in the city as “frenzied thug violence”.
Richard Eddy claims he’s received more “outraged” mail in the past 24 hours related to the statue felling than he has at any other time in his 28 years as a councillor in Bristol.
The politician, who’s previously served as Conservative leader of Bristol City Council and is still local councillor for Bishopsworth, said he was “horrified and appalled” by the scenes in the city centre on 7th June, in which a group of protesters pulled down the statue and then tipped it into the river.
Eddy, who in 2018 suggested vandalising or stealing a proposed second plaque on the Colston Statue informing the public of his involvement in the slave trade “may be justified”, described the people who pulled down the statue as a “criminal mob”.
“I’m horrified and appalled by the rank lawlessness which was exposed in Bristol on Sunday when the famous statue of Edward Colston was attacked and vandalised by a criminal mob. “Edward Colston to me and generations of Bristolians stands out as a hero whose wealth has continued to benefit the housing, education and healthcare of the citizens of this city. I am equally outraged by the feeble comments, effectively condoning violence, of Mayor Marvin Rees and the pathetic hand-wringing of senior Avon & Somerset police officers. Over the coming days and weeks, both need to be held to account by Bristolians," he added.
Avon and Somerset Police have been criticised but also praised for their handling of the incident. Officers were present but did not intervene to try to stop the crowd pulling down the statue, and since then authorities have said they’ve identified 17 people responsible for criminal damage.