David Olusoga called as expert defence witness in Colston 4 trial

There were remarkable scenes in Bristol Crown Court on Thursday as one of the UK’s foremost historians was called as an expert defence witness in the trial of the four people accused of criminal damage to the statue of Edward Colston.

David Olusoga took the jury back in time several centuries to the height of the transatlantic slave trade, described the horrifying conditions enslaved people were forced to endure and spoke of Colston’s part in the enterprise.

In front of a packed public gallery, the professor spoke of Colston’s attempts at “reputation laundering” during his lifetime and later the “cult” that grew up around his philanthropy that led to the erection of his statue in 1895, 174 years after his death in 1721.

Olusoga said that the money to pay for the statue was raised by “a tiny group of the city’s elite”, with the wording of the plaque on the now empty plinth “a form of camouflage”.

“This is not an issue of amnesia. This is people aware of his background (as a slave trader) finding a way of not saying it.”

David Olusoga gave evidence on the fourth day of the Colston 4 trial at Bristol Crown Court – photo: Martin Booth

Olusoga told the jury about the “interventions” that appeared on the statue in recent years when it was still standing, including a knitted ball and chain made of red wool, and a “guerrilla plaque”.

He also spoke about an aborted official heritage plaque, whose words were “toned down” by the Society of Merchant Venturers and in particular by Francis Greenacre, one of its members.

Olusoga said that the Merchant Venturers “seemed to be committed to trying to historically minimise” Colston’s involvement in the slave trade “by making it seem more normal”.

“The statue was not just silent about Colston’s business interests. What offended in particular many people was that it was silent about his victims” including the many children who died on his slave ships.

When a reworded plaque was suggested, Olusoga said that “it was felt by mayor Marvin Rees that the final wording was so watered down that it was not appropriate to be erected”.

Liam Walker, representing Sage Willoughby, asked Olusoga if the statue of Colston being toppled from its plinth and rolled into the docks on June 7 2020 was an act of violence?

“I think it is something I can comment upon,” replied Olusoga.

But then judge Peter Blair sent the jury for a mid-afternoon break and when they returned, told them that question was a matter for their own deliberations and one that they will have to “grapple with”.

The judge said: “I have taken the decision that we will not hear professor Olusoga’s views on that latter point.”

All four defendants in the case – Rhian Graham, 30, Milo Ponsford, 26, Jake Skuse, 33, and Sage Willoughby, 22 – deny charges of criminal damage. The trial continues.

Main photo: Martin Booth

Read more: Edward Colston ‘irrelevant’ in Colston 4 trial, says prosecution

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