London statue of Robert Milligan REMOVED from West India Quay after protesters' demands

A statue of the founder of West India Quay, Robert Milligan, has been removed due to his links to the slave trade.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan confirmed the statue had been removed on Twitter.

He said: "The statue of slave trader Robert Milligan has now been removed from West India Quay.

"It’s a sad truth that much of our wealth was derived from the slave trade - but this does not have to be celebrated in our public spaces."

Tower Hamlets Council confirmed on Twitter they have removed the statue and will be reviewing other monuments in wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.

They wrote: "Tonight [Tuesday], we have removed the statue of slave trader Robert Milligan that previously stood at West India Quay.

"We have also announced a review into monuments and other sites in our borough to understand how we should represent the more troubling periods in our history."

Robert Milligan was a prominent Scottish merchant, slave-owner, slave-factor and ship-owner, and was the driving force behind the construction of the West India Docks in London.