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Warning after UK court frees BLM protesters

Friday, 07 January 2022 1:28 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 07 January 2022 1:28 AM ]

Amina Taylor
Press TV, London

A group of British lawmakers have warned of a ‘dangerous precedent’ being set after protesters who toppled the statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston walked free from a British court, cleared of criminal damage charges. But supporters of the people dubbed the Colston Four says the case was politically motivated and should never have been brought in the first place.

Cleared of criminal damage charges at Bristol Crown Court, Rhian Graham, Milo Ponsford, Jake Skuse, and Sage Willoughby dubbed the ‘Colston Four’ celebrated their acquittal in a trial that divided British public opinion.

The jury’s verdict has garnered mixed reviews with some MPs writing to the attorney general asking him to look once more at the ‘wrong’ result. Elsewhere, there have been calls for the Home Secretary to explain why this case was so heavily pursued in the first place and what happens now that move has now seemingly backfired.

The focus is now on high profile monuments such as the statue of Sir Winston Churchill, Britain’s lauded WWII leader but a figure that’s now been increasingly seen through the lens of his controversial views on race and empire.

New legislation being pushed through under the Police and Crime bill will make defacing monuments punishable by up to ten years behind bars.

There is the hope that many local and national stakeholders will use the outcome of the Colston Four trial as a teachable moment -a chance to reflect on Britain’s checkered past but then again, maybe it will just be business as usual.

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