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Black Lives Matter: 'Urgent audit' of Welsh statues and street names

Professor of history Chris Evans explains Thomas Picton's links to slavery

An "urgent audit" is to be carried out of statues, street and building names in Wales to address the country's connections with the slave trade.

It follows the pulling down of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol by protesters in June.

First Minister Mark Drakeford said the Welsh Government review was "not about rewriting the past" but "reflecting it with the justice it deserves".

There have been calls for Wales to reassess its own monuments.

Black Lives Matter protests took place around the world earlier this year, following the death of George Floyd in the United States.

The 46-year-old black man died after a white police officer was filmed kneeling on his neck during an arrest.

The Lord Mayor of Cardiff has called for a bust of one slave owner, Thomas Picton, to be removed from City Hall.

Mr Drakeford said the Black Lives Matter movement "has brought to the fore a number of important issues we need to address as a country".

"One is the need for Wales to reflect on the visible reminders of the country's past. This is especially true when we look at the horrors of the slave trade.

"Some of our historic buildings are reminders of this painful period of our history. Some may appear to make heroes of historical figures whose actions we now condemn."