Colston statue ‘cast a shadow’ over Bristol, court hears in BLM protest trial

Defence says memorial to slave trader toppled last June was indecent and threatening' to city's black community

The statue of Edward Colston in Bristol was a monument to racism", a court has heard, as a defendant described the moment he gave the signal to topple the memorial to the slave trader.

Rhian Graham, 30, Milo Ponsford, 26, and Sage Willoughby, 22, are accused of helping to tear down the statue of the slave trader during a Black Lives Matter protest on 7 June last year. They are on trial alongside Jake Skuse, 33, who is accused of helping to roll the bronze to Bristol harbour where it was thrown into the River Avon.