A senior Tory city councillor in Bristol has described slave trader Edward Colston as a 'hero', and the toppling of his statue as 'frenzied thug violence'.
Cllr Richard Eddy said he has received more mail in the past 24 hours over this one issue than he has over anything else in his 28 years as a councillor in Bristol - and it was a 'stream of outraged responses'.
The politician, who has served as the Conservative leader on Bristol City Council and is still the local councillor for Bishopsworth in the south of the city, said he was 'horrified and appalled' by the scenes in the city centre on Sunday afternoon, in which a group of people pulled down the statue and then it was rolled to the Floating Harbour and tipped over the edge.
Cllr Eddy, who two years ago said vandalising or stealing a proposed second plaque on the Colston Statue which told of his slave trade links 'may be justified' described the people who pulled down the statue on Sunday as a 'criminal mob'.
“I am horrified and appalled by the rank lawlessness which was exposed in Bristol on Sunday when the famous statue of Edward Colston was attacked and vandalised by a criminal mob," he said.
Avon and Somerset Police have been criticised and also praised for their handling of the incident. Officers were present but did not intervene to try to stop the crowd pulling down the statue, and since then, police have said they have identified 17 people who they say were responsible for what amounts to criminal damage.
Cllr Eddy expressed his support for Edward Colston and his legacy, as he has done consistently for decades.
“Edward Colston to me and generations of Bristolians stands out as a hero whose wealth has continued to benefit the housing, education and healthcare of the citizens of this city," he said.
In 2001, he resigned as deputy leader of the Conservative group at City Hall after he began to use a golliwog doll as a mascot, and then got into hot water soon after that when he said the council should hire 'more attractive lesbians'.
He was reinstated as deputy leader six months later.
In July 2018, Cllr Eddy entered the debate that was raging at the time over the wording of a proposed second plaque that was to be fixed to the statue of Edward Colston in The Centre.
After reading that the plaque would outline Colston's slave trading legacy, the councillor said that if it was put on the statue, then someone vandalising it or stealing it 'may be justified'.
Today, after the statue itself was pulled down and dumped in the Floating Harbour, Cllr Eddy condemned the actions.
“Since this frenzied thug violence on Sunday, I have received a stream of outraged responses from constituents and others- more than I’ve even received in such a short time in my 28-year Council service," he said.
“I am equally outraged by the feeble comments, effectively condoning violence, of Mayor Marvin Rees and the pathetic hand-wringing of senior Avon & Somerset police officers. Over the coming days and weeks, both need to be held to account by Bristolians," he added.
The Conservative leader on Bristol City Council, Mark Weston, has described the tearing down of Edward Colston's statue as a 'wanton act of criminal damage.
