The Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol yesterday was an expression of many Bristolians’ call for the racism that exists in our country and across the world to stop. We all support those calls.

The statue of Edward Colston should have been taken down a long time ago. It was an affront to many in our city and its removal was historically symbolic for that reason.

However, we don’t condone criminal damage and Avon and Somerset Police have our full support, both in their actions yesterday and in their investigation.

We fully support the call of Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees; that this must now be about the future of our city, tackling racism and inequality.