THE rise of Liverpool from a relatively insignificant fishing village to a major port was largely predicated on the transatlantic trade, much of which involved the transportation of slaves.

This is an uncomfortable and perhaps unpalatable truth.

This history is reflected in many of the street names and statues in the city that help define its existence.

To destroy or attempt to remove these and other reminders amounts to an attempt to obliterate and deny history which brings to my mind the actions of the Nazis and Islamic State amongst many others.

Better, surely, to correct and amend by the erection of plaques, monuments, other statues etc which detail the appalling statistics of the suffering endured at all times by those transported.

To complete the narrative, perhaps one should also emphasise that any trade has a supply and demand aspect and that the supply side here depended also on the active complicity for profit of many African tribal chiefs who apparently eagerly traded their own and other tribes’ peoples - in the millions - an aspect facilitated by other traders, often of Arab origin.

The current trend - and I suspect it is only that - for the destruction of history is serving to detract from perfectly righteous protests about the killing of George Floyd.

It seems to overlook the iniquitous and sadly prevalent modern-day slavery; and it is helping this government to avoid divert attention from its incompetence and ineptitude in the handling of the Covid pandemic (which it seems may have resulted in thousands of unnecessary deaths).

Boris may well be secretly pleased!

Steve Wheeler, by email