Nadia Whittome is facing a backlash after appearing to side with protesters who forcefully removed a statue in Bristol yesterday (June 7).
Thousands of people turned out over the weekend to show support for the Black Lives Matter cause in a number of peaceful protests, including one on Sunday in Nottingham.
But, in some instances, the protests turned violent.
A small minority of protestors clashed with police in London while, on Sunday, a statue was forcefully removed from its stand in Bristol.
The statue, of former slave trader Edward Colston, has proved to be highly controversial amidst the Black Lives Matter campaign.
Ten thousand protesters turned up in the Somerset city to make their voice heard, but the decision to pull down the statue led to Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitting that the protests had been “subverted by thuggery.”
Nadia Whittome, who was elected to represent Nottingham East in December, weighed in on the conversation by pledging her support for the protesters.
She tweeted: “I celebrate these acts of resistance.
“We need a movement that will tear down systemic racism and the slave owner statues that symbolise it.
“And we need to win a government that will always be on the side of this movement.”
But many people have turned against the 24-year-old following her comments.
You surely canāt condone this violence as an MP. Itās criminal.
ā Susan Baldwin (@clarinshobbs) June 7, 2020
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted in opposition of the forceful removing of the statue, but admitted it should have been taken down democratically by local authorities.
He said: “Edward Colston was responsible for 100,000 people being moved from Africa to the Caribbean as slaves. 20,000 died en route.
“The statue shouldn’t have been taken down in the way it was. But it should have been removed from our streets a long time ago.”
Labour MP David Lammy added: “I don’t ever condone criminal acts. I have seen too many burnt buildings, burnt cars, people who have lost everything, in riots.
“But it is shameful to treat a slave trader like Edward Colston as an icon.
“The statue should have come down a long time ago in a democratic way.”
The mayor for Bristol, Marvin Rees, has said that the statue will “highly likely end up in one of our museums” because of it’s role in the city’s historical story.
By Matt Lee
Featured photo credit: (modified) original photo took by Na Qing.