Queen Victoria statue in Leeds left covered in graffiti after Black Lives Matter protests

A STATUE of Queen Victoria has been left covered in graffiti after Black Lives Matter protests. Demonstrators sprayed the sculpture in Leeds with the words “racist”, “murderer” and “slave owner”. The 925-year-old memorial on Woodhouse Moor is now also emblazoned with the letters “BLM” in honour of the movement. Statues of Winston Churchill and slave […]

A STATUE of Queen Victoria has been left covered in graffiti after Black Lives Matter protests.

Demonstrators sprayed the sculpture in Leeds with the words “racist”, “murderer” and “slave owner”.

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A statue of Queen Victoria was covered in graffiti after anti-racism protests[/caption]

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The memorial in Leeds was sprayed following Black Lives Matter rallies[/caption]

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Council workers scrubbed the statue clean in Woodhouse Moor Park[/caption]

The 925-year-old memorial on Woodhouse Moor is now also emblazoned with the letters “BLM” in honour of the movement.

Statues of Winston Churchill and slave trader Edward Colston have also been targeted during anti-racism rallies.

Protesters in Bristol tore down the Colston statue and threw it into the harbour.

And a statue of slave trader Robert Milligan was removed in East London last night following a petition.

Hundreds of statues could be pulled down after protesters drew up a “hitlist”.

A group called Topple the Racists want statues across Britain removed and street names changed.

Their list includes some of Britain’s most famous historial figures including King James II, Oliver Cromwell and Christopher Columbus.

The group said: “We believe these statues and other memorials to slave-owners and colonialists need to be removed so that Britain can finally face the truth about its past – and how it shapes our present.

“Statues are exercises of public adoration. And Edward Colston made his fortune in the slave trade.

“He was part of a system of mass murder, torture and human suffering.

“We must learn from, not venerate, this terrible chapter in British colonial history.”

Labour councils across England and Wales will begin reviewing monuments and statues in their towns and cities.

The worldwide anti-racism protests follow the killing of George Floyd in the US last month.

He died after a white police officer pressed his knee into his neck for almost nine minutes.

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Protesters sprayed words including “racist” and “murderer”[/caption]

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Demonstrators defaced 925-year-old statue of Queen Victoria[/caption]

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The name of the movement, “Black Lives Matter”, was sprayed on the ground[/caption]