Four people on trial for toppling statue of slave trader Edward Colston

Four people are on trial at Bristol Crown Court accused of criminal damage in relation to the toppling of a statue of slave trader Edward Colston.

Rhian Graham, 29, Milo Ponsford, 25, Jake Skuse, 36, and Sage Willoughby, 21, deny the charges.

Prosecutor William Hughes QC told the jury that the fact that Colston was a slave trader was “wholly irrelevant” to the case before them.

Cheers and applause sounded from the public gallery after a video capturing the moment the statue of Colston was felled was played to the jury.

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