A Downing Street spokesperson has said the tearing down of a Bristol statue was a "criminal act" and the people responsible should be "held to account".
A statue of slave trader Edward Colston was pulled down yesterday (June 7), before being rolled through the streets of Bristol and pushed in the harbour.
The action was taken during a Black Lives Matter protest in the city.
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Responding to the news, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The PM’s view is that in this country, where there is strong opinion, there is a democratic process which should be followed.
“People can campaign for the removal of a statue but what happened yesterday was a criminal act and when the criminal law is broken that is unacceptable and the police will want to hold to account those responsible.”
The spokesman added: “The PM absolutely understands the strength of feeling, but in this country we settle our differences democratically and if people wanted the removal of the statue there are democratic routes which can be followed.”
Labour leader Keir Starmer also reacted to the removal of the statue - saying the means were "completely wrong".
Speaking on LBC Radio, he said: “It shouldn’t be done in that way.
"Completely wrong to pull a statute down like that."
“But, stepping back that statue should have been… taken down a long, long time ago. You can’t, in 21st-century Britain, have a slaver on a statue.
“A statue is there to honour people. And you can’t have that in 21st-century Britain. That statue should have been brought down properly with consent and put, I would say, in a museum.”
