Leeds pledges statues audit of historic figures

All statues of historic figures in Leeds will be subject to a city-wide review, the council has said.

It comes after a statue of Queen Victoria was sprayed with graffiti including the words "murderer" and "slave owner".

The review will be led by Leeds' first black female councillor, Alison Lowe, the council has said.

It said however, it had an obligation to remove graffiti from the statue on Woodhouse Moor.

Council leader Judith Blake said the terms of the review had not yet been drawn up, but would be "as broad as possible" with the aim of "understanding what we have and whether it's appropriate or not".

A statue of 17th Century slave trader Edward Colston was torn off its plinth in Bristol by protesters on Sunday, prompting calls for statues of other figures with links to slavery and imperialism to be removed.

The statue of Queen Victoria, whose reign saw the vast expansion of Britain's imperial power, was initially erected outside Leeds Town Hall in 1905, but was moved to Woodhouse Moor in 1937.

A spokesman for the authority said it would always support people's rights to express their views in a peaceful manner.

Andrea Jenkyns, the Conservative MP for Morley and Outwood, questioned the decision to spend taxpayers' money on the review, before adding: "You cannot erase history, only learn the lessons from it."

Responding to her comments, Mrs Blake said: "I want to reassure everybody there's absolutely no attempt to erase history. History has to be the most important measure for us to understand who we are today and what we are doing."

A council spokesman added: "We know there is currently a passionate and ongoing debate around statues of some historic figures and we are keen to be part of that conversation and listen to any views people may have.

"We think it is important to understand the history and context of each of our statues and we will, therefore, undertake a city-wide review of our statues and related cultural history."

A statue of former Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel, also on Woodhouse Moor in Leeds, has been targeted by campaigners.

Although sometimes described as the founder of modern policing after establishing the Metropolitan Police Force in 1829, Sir Robert Peel's father, also an MP, supported a petition against the Foreign Slave Trade Abolition Bill and the family's wealth was based on its textile businesses.

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