Statues of two prominent figures with links to the transatlantic slave trade will be removed from the City of London's historic Guildhall headquarters.
The decision to remove the statues of William Beckford and Sir John Cass was made by the City of London Corporation’s Policy and Resources Committee on the recommendation of its Tackling Racism Taskforce. The taskforce was set up in June following the Black Lives Matter protests.
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Committee Chair Catherine McGuinness said: “This decision is the culmination of months of valuable work by the Tackling Racism Taskforce, which has taken a comprehensive approach to addressing injustice and inequality. The view of members was that removing and re-siting statues linked to slavery is an important milestone in our journey towards a more inclusive and diverse city.”
It may sit at odds with the UK Government's recent decision to mandate full planning permission to remove historical statues.
Beckford was a two-time Lord Mayor of London in the late 1700s. His statue will be re-sited and replaced with a new, yet-to-be-decided, artwork.
The likeness of 17th and 18th century merchant Sir John Cass will be returned to its owner, the Sir John Cass Foundation.