Statue of Welsh slave trader Sir Thomas Picton boarded up in Cardiff

The statue of a Welsh slave trader has been boarded up at Cardiff’s civic centre after councillors passed a vote to remove it.

The marble statue of Sir Thomas Picton was encased inside a wooden box only hours after the Cardiff Council passed its vote.

Sir Thomas’s statue has stood in the building since 1916, where it was unveiled as part of a “Heroes of Wales” series by the then-future prime minister, David Lloyd George.

He was the most senior military officer killed during the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, but was also known to use the slave trade to build his wealth.

Sir Thomas also had a dozen slaves executed during his time as governor of Trinidad during colonial rule.

In 1806, he was found guilty of torturing a 14-year-old mixed-race girl during his rule of the Caribbean island. He was never sentenced, and two years later the verdict was reversed at a retrial.

Dan De’Ath, Cardiff’s first black mayor, had called for the statue of who he called the “sadistic 19th century slave-owner” to be removed, after Sir Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol was toppled by Black Lives Matter protesters in June.

“Most people were incredibly supportive. They recognise the significance of the statue and what an affront it is to black people. Black lives do matter,” he said.

“It’s therefore not appropriate to have such a person as Picton, who caused so much suffering and death and misery during his time as governor of Trinidad, commemorated and celebrated.

“Statues are not just about history. They are about celebrating the lives of the people they depict, and representing a certain set of values. These aren’t the values, he’s not the person, and these aren’t the deeds we want to celebrate and recognise in Cardiff today.”

Mr De’Ath added that the removal of Sir Thomas’s statue had a “special significance” for him, owing to his family’s history.

“I’m not only black, but my father came from Antigua, an island in the Caribbean. He was almost certainly a descendent of slaves himself,” he said.

“It means a lot. A huge amount to me and other black people out there in the community.”

The Welsh Government will now have to make a ruling on the statue, as the building is Grade I listed, with a final decision expected from Wales’s historic environment service in December.

The vote on Thursday evening was overwhelmingly in favour of removing the statue, with 57 for, five against and nine abstentions.

A task force set up by council leader Huw Thomas and chaired by Labour councillor Saeed Ebrahim will work with black communities in Cardiff to understand what support they want from the city’s government.

Earlier in the month, First Minister Mark Drakeford ordered an “urgent audit” of statues street and building names, to address Wales’s associations with the slave trade.

(c) Sky News 2020: Statue of Welsh slave trader Sir Thomas Picton boarded up in Cardiff