Sir Winston Churchill's grandson has described the vandalism of his grandfather's statue and others during Black Lives Matter protests as an "absurd reaction" that is "sad to see". Where did he get that from? "We weren’t there because of what happened with the statue of Colston"Get the latest Robins news sent straight to your inboxOne of the people who ‘stood guard’ around the Cenotaph in Bristol has explained why they were there and disputed The man, who declined to be named, said the group objected to being called ‘far right’ by the Black Lives Matter marchers and ‘right wing’ by the man in charge of the policing operation.In the aftermath of the events of Sunday, which saw 10,000 people flood into The Centre and Bristol Live understands those comments have infuriated those who were there around the Cenotaph, who said the police chief had misunderstood and then misrepresented what happened.Although a spokesperson for Avon and Somerset confirmed one person in the group "expressed opposition to the statue of Edward Colston being pulled down”.The man said those who went to guard the Cenotaph were a group of friends who follow Bristol City, and had decided to act on Sunday morning, after they saw the events in London on Saturday which included the Cenotaph and other monuments vandalised or sprayed on.“There were around a dozen of us who were there from 1pm, long before the people on the Black Lives Matter march reached the Cenotaph, and a few others including me got there about 2pm,” he said.“So we weren’t there because of what happened with the statue of Colston.
They didn’t know that someone else would not have come along and done something. Ourexplains more about how we use your data, and your rights. He told Bristol Live: “After celebrating the removal of one slaver’s statue, let’s get back to what the crux of this issue is about here in Bristol – which is racism, which is endemic here. These are external links and will open in a new window So I knew when to leave. You can unsubscribe at any time. UK Black Lives Matter protests: Officer falls from horse as mounted police ‘charge’ protesters and Cenotaph vandalised. But we’ve seen in other places, that when there is a big crowd like that, you get a few people who see the opportunity for a bit of vandalism and attack other things like the Cenotaph.“That Cenotaph was erected there to honour the people of Bristol who died in two world wars, and it should not be a target,” he added.“Not one of us left the Cenotaph and got involved in anything, apart from to go to the shop across the road. All we were doing was standing around the Cenotaph to make sure nothing happened to it,” he said.The group numbered around 15 by 2.30pm, the time when the march was passing them. I do not have a problem with that. It was then rolled to the harbour before being thrown in the water. A crowd gathered at the memorial following a call to "protect" the cenotaph after similar memorials were vandalised in London. About 400 football fans, war veterans and bikers were among those who came to the city to "protect" the war memorial
Then we saw that there was a lad coming closer to the Cenotaph with a spray can in his pocket. For more details of these cookies and how to disable them, see our Video shows a police horse running down Whitehall after a police officer was knocked off. Cenotaph Vandalised with ‘BLM’ Graffiti on D-Day Anniversary Amid Violent Protests 32,076 Hulton Archive/Getty Images. These are external links and will open in a new windowA man has come forward following a police appeal over a possible assault during a protest at Bristol's cenotaph.The assault allegedly happened during a rally on Saturday, which saw A man in his 20s reported being struck near the memorial, shortly after 14.20 BST, Avon and Somerset Police said.Police said a man they had "wished to identify in connection with an assault and affray " had come forward.A crowd gathered at the memorial following a call to "protect" the cenotaph after similar memorials were vandalised in London.Posts shared online before the event called for fans of Bristol City, Bristol Rovers, Cardiff City, Newport and Swindon football clubs to come to the city.Some protesters held up banners reading "All Lives Matter", but denied they were far-right supporters.The protest took place close to where the statue of slave trader The agency warns that millions of mail-in votes may not arrive on time to be counted by election day. One of us grabbed it off him, and that’s when there was a lot of arguments.“We were accused of being Nazis and racists, just because we were protecting the Cenotaph.“One of us is mixed race, and went so far as taking his shirt off to show them that he has a tattoo on his back which is the England flag and the Jamaican flag linked together,” he said.“Things got heated, but the only time it kicked off a little bit was when the spray can was grabbed,” he added.“There were just a small number of police officers in The Centre, not the 80 claimed by Supt Bennett. I admit I am a former football hooligan and I’ve been in trouble before, but not for six years. They have all congregated around the cenotaph which was erected in 1932.There has been a large police presence in the city centre with people reporting on social media that officers have now created a 'closed cordon' around the group.It comes as the Metropolitan Police in London have warned protesters in they must be off the streets by 5pm on Saturday.Organisers of one demonstration planned for Saturday cancelled the event over fears of conflict with far-right protesters, but police think thousands of people will still attend.In Bristol, on Sunday 7 June, the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was pulled down during a Black Lives Matter protest in the city. “Once the euphoria of a couple of days ago dies down, we will still be here to face the same oppression and racism that we have faced for a long time – this is a reminder of it.”