Black Lives Matter: Winston Churchill monument and Cenotaph boarded up as more statues removed

Workers have boarded up a statue of Sir Winston Churchill and the Cenotaph in central London ahead of weekend protests.

Though the majority of protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been peaceful, statues around the country have been targeted.

Often topping lists of “the greatest Britons”, Churchill is honoured with numerous monuments, the most famous located in London’s Parliament Square.

Lauded for his leadership as Britain’s wartime prime minister and opposition to Hitler’s Nazi regime, he also espoused racist views of Indians, who he said he “hated” and considered to be “a beastly people with a beastly religion”.

His statue was boarded up overnight for its own protection after protesters pushed a monument of slave trader Edward Colston into Bristol Harbour on Sunday.

On Thursday evening, a tower block sign bearing the slave trader’s name in the city was also removed.

A statue of slave owner Robert Milligan has also been removed from outside the Museum of London.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals in London have said they will remove two statues linked to slavery in response to anti-racism protests across the UK.

The NHS foundation trust which runs the hospitals said monuments of Thomas Guy and Sir Robert Clayton will be moved out of public view.

Thomas Guy, who founded Guy’s hospital in the 18th century, had shares in the South Sea Company which was involved in the slave trade.

Sir Robert Clayton, who was president of St Thomas’ hospital in the 17th century, was a banker connected to the Royal African Company which shipped slaves across the Atlantic.

The Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, and King’s College London said in a statement: “Like many organisations in Britain, we know that we have a duty to address the legacy of colonialism, racism and slavery in our work.

“We absolutely recognise the public hurt and anger that is generated by the symbolism of public statues of historical figures associated with the slave trade in some way.

“We have therefore decided to remove statues of Robert Clayton and Thomas Guy from public view, and we look forward to engaging with and receiving guidance from the Mayor of London’s Commission on each.”

The NHS foundation trust added there are no plans to change the names of the hospitals.

The trust also said the removal of the statues will most likely “take a few weeks” due to the “size, age and listed status” of the monuments.

Sky News research has found eight in 10 councils are considering the future of contentious statues in response to Black Lives Matter protests.

Actions under consideration range from taking them down, plaques to put them in historical context, and simply listening to residents’ concerns.

Sky News contacted 43 councils with a total of 58 statues between them which have been criticised for their links to racism, slavery or colonialism.

A statue of the Scouts founder Robert Baden-Powell in Poole has been given 24-hour protection after plans for its temporary removal were delayed.

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The announcement came after residents of the Dorset town said they were “livid” and would fight the council’s plans to take the monument down.

Baden-Powell, a British Army officer who started Scouting in 1907, has been accused by critics of racism and of being a Nazi sympathiser.

(c) Sky News 2020: Black Lives Matter: Winston Churchill monument and Cenotaph boarded up as more statues removed