The Mayor of Bristol has said that a statue toppled yesterday and thrown into the harbour will likely be fished out and placed in a museum.
During a Black Lives Matter protest on Sunday a large crowd of people gathered around the statue of Edward Colston, a notorious slave trader.
Using ropes the demonstrators pulled Colston down and rolled him into the water, to great cheers from onlookers, Bristol Post reported.
Speaking live on BBC Radio Bristol, Mayor Marvin Rees warned about the dangers of mass gatherings.
While he said he did not support criminal damage, Mayor Rees argued the toppling of the statue was now part of the city’s history.
“It’s still underwater, at some point it will be fished out… we will obviously take the statue out,” he said.
“But we have a number of priorities in the city at the moment not least trying to face up to an £18million gap in our budget that we have been left with by national Government not funding us adequately for covid.
“What’s happened to the statue is now part of that statue’s story. People in Bristol came together and said we don’t want that statue in the middle of the city.
“What I would also recognise though- and it’s important to do so – is that many people are dismayed by the tearing down of the statue and as a city it is our job to unite those voices to.
“We do live in a country where some people feel like they are losing their grip on their history and identity, many people believe Colston represented their sense of Bristol.
“So we as a city need to now have that kind of discussion with ourselves about what we are as a city and how we all make sure we have a sense of place and ownership.”
He added: “It is highly likely that the Colston statue will end up in one of our museums.”
For many years before the statue was taken off its plinth yesterday campaigners in Bristol and further afield have been calling for it to be removed.
Colston was a member of the Royal African Company, which transported about 80,000 men, women and children from Africa to the Americas.
On his death in 1721, he bequeathed his wealth to charities and his legacy can still be seen on Bristol’s streets, memorials and buildings.
Avon and Somerset Police said a decision was taken not to intervene when it became clear the statue was coming down.
In the day since a petition has been launched to have a statue of Paul Stephenson stand on the now empty plinth.
The local hero led the 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott, started because the Bristol Post announced in 1961 that black workers were refused work, despite a shortage of employees.
The Boycott influenced the creation of the Race Relations Act.
The petition page reads: “It is time Bristol moves forward with its history in the slave trade, acknowledging the evil committed and how it can educate its citizens about black history.”