That’s simply not true

I live in Bristol, and the statue of Colston has long been an issue in the city. There have been countless campaigns to either remove it or change the inscription to make Colston’s revolting record on slave trading more accurate. Every time a change has been mooted, the Society of Merchant Venturers, an opaque “charitable” organisation founded in the era of slavery, has used their significant influence to put a stop to it. Membership of the Merchant Venturers is not made public, though we do know some of the members - for example former elected Bristol Mayor George Ferguson - and the vast majority are wealthy businesspeople.

Whether or not protesters were right to tear it down, the statue would have been moved to the museum years ago were it not for the lobbying of the Merchant Venturers.

It’s also worth noting that there was no other public disorder at the Bristol protest - this was not a riot. The same could be said for the vast majority of protests over the weekend.

Posted By: Sellbydave, Jun 8, 09:50:33