Colston Four acquittal raises doubts about 10-year jail term proposal

Legal experts say new law would mean all cases about monument damage go before juries

The acquittal of the Colston Four raises questions about new laws imposing 10-year jail terms for the toppling of statues, legal experts have said.

On Wednesday, three men and a woman who helped pull down a monument to the slave trader Edward Colston at a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest were found not guilty by a jury on the grounds that they had a lawful excuse.