Bristol's Colston statue 'provides valuable opportunity in museum', damage trial told
Four people are on trial at Bristol Crown Court after denying criminal damage in relation to the toppling of the memorial
The man in charge of heritage at Bristol City Council said the toppled statue of Edward Colston provides a valuable opportunity for "conversation and education" in its new home in a museum.
The bronze memorial to the 17th century slave merchant was pulled down during a Black Lives Matter protest on June 7 last year, before being dumped in Bristol Harbour.
Rhian Graham, 30, Milo Ponsford, 26, Jake Skuse, 33, and Sage Willoughby, 22, are on trial at Bristol Crown Court after denying criminal damage.
The statue was recovered from the harbour and is now on display at the M Shed museum.
Jon Finch, head of culture and creative industries at the council, gave evidence for the prosecution on Tuesday (14 December) about the damage caused to the statue.
But he was confronted with remarks he made about the statue ahead of the opening in June of the exhibition in which it features.
Tom Wainwright, for Ponsford, read out Mr Finch's quotes describing the opportunity for the M Shed to demonstrate "the value of what museums could and should be about".
Mr Finch said museums should be "able to respond and engage with social issues and current concerns".
He also described it as a valuable opportunity for conversation, education and "most importantly, engagement" with the people of Bristol.
Mr Wainwright said: "The toppling of the statue was in itself an historic event, it was a protest that was heard around the world?"
"It was, yes," Mr Finch replied.
"Now has value as an educational and cultural object that it didn't have before?" Mr Wainwright asked.
"I think it certainly now has value as an historic object," the witness said.
Mr Finch was asked if the fact other memorials and venues around the city have been stripped of Colston's name proved the statue should have been removed earlier, but he replied: "I can't comment on that."
The four defendants were tracked down through CCTV images.
When interviewed by police, Graham confirmed it was her in the footage and said the statue had caused "massive offence" to the people of Bristol, who had campaigned for it to be removed.
"I accept that I helped cause the damage to the statue but whether it is criminal or not, I think, is up for debate," she said.
The court heard that Willoughby told police he had tied ropes around the statue's neck, but he did not pull down the statue or push it in the harbour.
"He said that Colston statue has been petitioned for removal over 20 years and ignored by Bristol City Council," Mr Hughes said.
"He helped cause the damage and did not have Bristol City Council's permission to do so."
Skuse and Ponsford made no comment to all questions when interviewed by police.
The jury heard there had been a campaign to remove the statue since at least the 1990s, but with concerns being raised as early as the 1920s.
The court was told that a planning application in 2018 to have a new plaque added to the plinth explaining Colston's involvement in the slave trade was derailed by the Society of Merchant Venturers.
Wording put forward by a local historian said Colston had played "an active role in the enslavement of 84,000 Africans, including 12,000 children, of whom over 19,000 died en route to the Caribbean and America".
It also noted that Bristol citizens who did not subscribe to his religious or political beliefs "were not permitted to benefit from his charities".
Alternative wording emphasised the extent of Colston's philanthropy ahead of his career as a slave trader, and removed references to the selective nature of his philanthropy.
The new wording was never added to the statue after an intervention by Bristol mayor Marvin Rees, who branded it "unacceptable", and the Society of Merchant Venturers later apologised for its involvement.
The trial continues, and is scheduled to last for two weeks.