Council considers legal action over removal of slavery plaque on city statue

The City of Edinburgh council has said it may consider legal action against a descendant of 18th century politician Henry Dundas over the removal of a plaque linking him to slavery.

The plaque on the Melville Monument states that the 1st Viscount Melville delayed the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade, resulting in the enslavement of half a million Africans.

In September this year, the Melville Monument Committee, founded by Henry Dundas descendent Viscount Bobby Melville, revealed that the plaque, which "distorted and misrepresented the legacy of Henry Dundas" had been removed.

The group claim that the city’s planning committee approved the removal earlier this year.

The Melville Monument Committee argue that the text on the plaque was written by “non-historians” at the height of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2020 and was “widely denounced by leading historians as a misrepresentation of history”.

They claim the council had no right to install it.

Following the removal of the plaque, Edinburgh Council has said it is now "in legal correspondence" with Bobby Dundas and the Melville Monument Committee.

According to the BBC, the Committee have been instructed to return the plaque and “present a proposal to make good any damage to the monument caused by removal".

However, Mr Bobby Dundas said in a statement that the removal was conducted in “complete accordance with the lawful permits issued by the Edinburgh City Council”.

Edinburgh Council Leader Cammy Day said: “We are investigating the improper removal of a plaque at the base of the Melville Monument in St Andrew Square. As caretakers to the statue any works to the monument would require the Council’s consent, which was not sought or given in this case.

“The decision of the Development Management Sub-Committee on March 1, 2023 did not give permission for the plaque to be removed.”

Lottie Winson