TAVISTOCK Town Council is to provide an ’explanatory narrative’ referring to the role of the slave trade close to the town’s statue of Sir Francis Drake following calls to remove the statue by anti-racism protesters.

Hundreds of petitions have been started to replace statues and signs of slave traders, colonialists and imperialists in the UK to show solidarity with the US Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, in the United States, after a white police officer was filmed kneeling on his neck.

Tavistock Town Council issued a statement this afternoon saying it shared the view expressed by West Devon Borough Council leader Neil Jory that the statue should serve as a reminder that there was an ’appallingly dark side to the history of seafaring, exploration and colonisation’.

The town council clerk, Carl Hearn added that the council appreciated the depth and diversity of the concerns that had been raised in the public discourse and was already in the early stages of delivering a heritage project over the next 12 months and, recognising those concerns, would now take the opportunity to look at how best to articulate all the strands of history for the town.

’Most especially a commitment to the interpretation of the darker side of how wealth was created through practices such as slavery, oppression and conquest - the associated suffering and its continuing legacy to help everyone appreciate the complicated and often dark and difficult heritage of our modern society,’ said the clerk.

’ The town council will also follow the approach set out by Plymouth City Council to provide an explanatory narrative safely located close by the statue referring to the role of the slave trade.’