A campaign to remove a statue to Sir Robert Peel in Piccadilly Gardens has been met with fury.
Hundreds of people have signed the petition demanding the removal of the monument to the two-time British Prime Minister, who is also regarded as the father of modern British policing.
Those behind the campaign say they want to highlight what they have called 'endemic racism that continues to plague Manchester and the fact that this city was built on slavery'.
They say the statue should be brought down due to the fact Peel's father, also a former MP called Robert Peel, 'was actively proslavery and circulated a proslavery petition in 1806, a mere year before the abolition of the slave trade'.
A counter-petition has since been set up, calling for the statue to remain, and has received more than 16,000 signatures (as of June 29).
Hundreds took to the Manchester Evening News's Facebook page to air their feelings about the calls to remove the monument.
Daniel Seal said: "I think most people agree that it was right to remove the statue of Edward Colston but this is a bit ridiculous. If we remove everything with a link to slavery and racism, there'll be nothing left!"
Carole Lesley Broadhurst added: "Don’t agree with this one. The man did something that has benefitted society.
"I believe the majority of the police are hardworking honest people who want to maintain law and order. As with all sections of society there are a small type of person that infiltrate and ruin the representation of what they stand for.
"Celebrating slavery with statues is and always will be wrong. We should be proud of the fact the majority of our police officers are honest hard working people. "
Alex Rawsthorne added: "Well let's completely demolish Manchester whilst were at it... you know the city built on the cotton industry which relied on the slave trade...
"We cant change history, but that doesn't mean we should erase all trace of it of pretend it didn't happen!"
The statue in Piccadilly Gardens is one of several in the UK to have been erected in honour of Peel.
Other prominent monuments can be found in Bury town centre and in Parliament Square, London.
At the weekend, protesters vandalised a statue to the Bury -born statesman in Glasgow city centre.
The letters ACAB - an abbreviation for 'all cops are b******s' could be seen defacing the plinth, alongside a hammer and sickle.
It came on the same day protesters in Bristol toppled the controversial statue of a 17th Century slave trader.
The bronze memorial to Edward Colston was torn down by crowds and dumped into the city's harbour as part of a Black Lives Matter demonstration.
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