Protesters in the United Kingdom sprayed the words "was a racist" onto a statue of Sir Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, during demonstrations that took place over the weekend.
It has been reported that protests taking place across the United Kingdom at the weekend were largely peaceful, though some saw "clashes with police", per the BBC.
Speaking to BBC journalist Vinnie O'Dowd, the man who 'tagged' the monument - who has remained anonymous - said he did so because Churchill "is a confirmed racist".
The demonstrator added:
"[Churchill] didn’t fight the Nazis for the Commonwealth or for anything else or for any personal freedoms. He fought the Nazis purely to protect the Commonwealth against the invasion by foreign forces.
"He didn’t do it for black people or people of color. He did it purely for colonialism. People will be angry but at the end of the day I’m angry that for many years we’ve been oppressed. You can’t enslave people, have the largest colonial empire ever in history and they try and come like 'yeah let’s be peaceful' - it don’t work like that."
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted that demonstrations had been "subverted by thuggery" yesterday.
"People have a right to protest peacefully & while observing social distancing but they have no right to attack the police. These demonstrations have been subverted by thuggery - and they are a betrayal of the cause they purport to serve. Those responsible will be held to account."
Aerial footage showed thousands of protesters gathering in the roads outside the US embassy in Vauxhall, before marching towards Parliament Square and Downing Street, where the prime minister of the United Kingdom resides.
Meanwhile, protesters in Bristol toppled a statue of 17th-century slave trader Edward Colston. Citizens had been calling for the statue to be removed in recent days, and a petition to Bristol City Council to have it removed gained more than 100,000 signatures.
Protestor John McAllister said of the statue;
"It says 'erected by the citizens of Bristol, as a memorial to one of the most virtuous and wise sons of this city'."
"The man was a slave trader. He was generous to Bristol but it was off the back of slavery and it's absolutely despicable. It's an insult to the people of Bristol".
You can see the moment the statue was pulled down here:This news comes as unrest continues to unfold across the US and around the world, as protests - some peaceful, some violent - are calling out the systemic injustices carried out against black people, not least seen by the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.
As well as a call for justice, these ongoing protests are also demanding an end to police brutality and the racism that is so deeply entrenched in America and the western world.
The message is simple: Black lives matter.
VT proudly supports Black Lives Matter, and for ways to contribute to the cause, please click HERE.