The four defendants on trial over the overturning of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol last June have all been found not guilty. Rhian Graham, Milo Ponsford, Jake Skuse and Sage Willoughby, known as “Colston Four” were cleared of the criminal damage charge by a majority verdict of 11-1; the Bristol Crown Court jury deliberated for just under three hours. The defendants have made no attempt to deny their involvement in the removal of the statue last summer, arguing that it was an act of protest rather than criminal damage. Historian David Olusoga, who testified as an expert witness at the trial, said: “This verdict is an important step on the road Bristol and Britain are on to come to terms with the totality of our history. MP Robert Jenrick, who as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government introduced legislation requiring the removal of monuments and statues to require a building permit, tweeted “We are undermining the he rule of law, which underpins our democracy, if we accept vandalism and crime damage are acceptable forms of political protest. They are not. Whatever the intentions. Find out more about the Colston statue in Apollo, see Madge Dresser on the building of the monument and Daniel Trilling on the art of creative destruction.