Keir Starmer: 'completely wrong' for protesters to topple slave-trader statue but it should have been removed years ago

“But, stepping back, that statue should have been taken down a long, long time ago. You can’t, in 21st-century Britain, have a slaver on a statue,” he declared.

Sir Keir pointed out: “This was a man who was responsible for 100,000 people being moved from Africa to the Caribbean as slaves, including women and children who were branded on their chests with the name of the company that he ran. Of the 100,000, 20,000 died en route and they were chucked in the sea.”

However, David Lammy, the Shadow Justice Minister, compared those who had torn down the Colston statue to followers of Martin Luther King and the suffragettes.

READ MORE: Bristol protests: Statue of slave trader Edward Colston pulled down

He told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "I'm quite sure that those young people who brought that statue down knew that they would be facing the law but that was a price they were willing to pay and there are many examples throughout history, from Martin Luther King to Harvey Milk, who protested on behalf of gay rights."

Colston, a wine merchant who was the MP for Bristol, headed the Royal African Company, which held a monopoly of the British trade in African slaves. He used his wealth to support schools, charitable housing for the poor, hospitals and churches in Bristol, London and elsewhere, many of which survive to this day.

Kit Malthouse, the UK Government’s Policing Minister, said the decision to remove Colston’s statue should have been taken "democratically" and not by "mob rule".

He said: "A crime was committed, criminal damage was committed, there should be evidence gathered and a prosecution should follow."

John Apter, Chairman of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers in England and Wales, criticised Avon and Somerset Police for its decision not to intervene in the protest.

He told BBC Breakfast: "To have no police presence there sent quite a negative message. I understand there has been a lot of controversy about this statue for many years; so the question is: why didn't those in the local authority consider taking it down long before, rather than waiting for these actions?"

As TV pictures over the weekend showed thousands of people across the UK joining anti-racism protests over the death in America of George Floyd, Mr Malthouse said the country would have to "hold our breath" on a possible rise in coronavirus cases.

His comments came after scientists predicted that one in 600 people have the virus.

When put to him on BBC Radio 4's Today programme that such a ratio meant Covid-19 would have been spread by protesters, the minister replied: "That's certainly the danger we are running at.

"We will all have to hold our breath over the next couple of weeks to see exactly what the impact has been. It is very unfortunate.

"As we have said right from the start, we urge people not to participate on public health grounds, notwithstanding the obvious strength of feeling that they have," he added.

At a demonstration at Holyrood Park in Edinburgh, pop star Lewis Capaldi was pictured alongside protesters while rapper Stormzy attended the London protest.

London Black Lives Matter also organised an online protest via Zoom for those unable to attend the demonstrations; it attracted more than 10,000 people.

Elsewhere, the operational patrol unit of Warwickshire Police tweeted that the M6 southbound was temporarily closed soon after 6pm due to pedestrian protesters blocking the carriageway.

In Manchester, hundreds crowded into St Peter's Square, kneeling in silence as a mark of respect for Mr Floyd, who died after a white police officer held him down by pressing a knee into his neck on May 25.

READ MORE: In pictures: Black Lives Matter protests across the UK 

Earlier, Boris Johnson claimed the anti-racism demonstrations had been "subverted by thuggery" after some protesters clashed with police in Whitehall, graffiti was scrawled on the Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square, and the Colston statue in Bristol was torn down and dumped in the local harbour.

Marvin Rees, the Mayor of Bristol, said he felt no sense of loss for the statue, but noted: "As an elected politician, obviously I cannot condone the damage and I am very concerned about the implications of a mass gathering on the possibility of a second Covid wave."

While anti-racism demonstrations were carried out peacefully for much of Sunday in London and elsewhere, there were a number of clashes with police in Whitehall with bottles thrown at officers in one incident near the Cenotaph just before 9pm.

Last night, Mr Johnson tweeted: "People have a right to protest peacefully & while observing social distancing but they have no right to attack the police.

"These demonstrations have been subverted by thuggery - and they are a betrayal of the cause they purport to serve. Those responsible will be held to account."

READ MORE: Mayor of Bristol feels no sense of loss after slave trader statue thrown into harbour

Ms Patel denounced the violence as "utterly disgraceful". She echoed the Prime Minister about “thuggery” and added: “Justice will follow.”

The Metropolitan Police said 12 people were arrested and eight officers were injured on Sunday, with most of the arrests related to public order offences, while one was for criminal damage following the incident at the Cenotaph.

Mr Malthouse said he believed more arrests will follow once footage had been examined.

"It is pretty obvious that a small group showed up intent on violence," he told BBC Breakfast.

"We know that because they turned up with fireworks and smoke bombs and various other bits of equipment. In those circumstances, the police have to act proportionately in a largely peaceful crowd and make sure they address the small number who are being violent."

It comes after Scotland Yard said 29 people were arrested and 14 officers were injured during clashes between police and protesters on Saturday.