COLSTON FOUR CLEARED BY JURY
In January, a Bristol jury sparked anger after clearing the so-called ‘Colston Four’ of criminal damage for the toppling of a statue of slave trader Edward Colston.
At the time, critics claimed the jury were politically motivated and described the ‘extraordinary’ verdict as a ‘vandals’ charter’ which they feared could hand other demonstrators a ‘dangerous’ licence to carry out similar acts.
Government sources insisted the trial would not stop authorities bringing prosecutions against vandals who damaged or defaced statues during political protests.
CIDER CANCELLED
Bristol’s woke warriors attracted fresh ridicule in February by calling for the public to boycott a popular cider producer over its tenuous links to slave trader Edward Colston.
The ‘Countering Colston’ group – which campaigns to cleanse Bristol of his legacy – were branded ‘heartless bastards’ for urging drinkers not to buy Thatchers Cider.
Activists were angry about fourth generation cider maker Martin Thatcher’s membership of the Society of Merchant Venturers, which is now a charitable organisation dedicated to education and the care of the elderly but in its previous incarnation had Colston as a member and was heavily involved in Transatlantic slavery.
Four-generation cider maker Martin Thatcher found himself targeted by woke activists this year
FEMINIST STUDENT LOSES CASE AGAINST UNIVERSITY
In April a PhD student lost her attempt to sue Bristol University after claiming they colluded with trans activists who wanted to ‘cancel her’ when she said only biological women can give birth.
Raquel Rosario-Sanchez had alleged university chiefs had failed to protect her when the row blew up over the use of the word ‘maternity’.
Feminist Ms Rosario-Sanchez said Bristol – dubbed the country’s ‘wokest’ university – did not tackle transgender activists who targeted her in a two-year hate campaign.
KILL THE BILL RIOTERS CLEARED
In May, a jury cleared a Kill the Bill rioter after accepting he was acting in self-defence when he stole an officer’s baton and kicked their shield – months after BLM activists who tore down a statue of Edward Colston also walked free.
Kadeem Yarde, 24, was among hundreds of young people who marched on Bridewell police station in Bristol city centre on March 21 last year. More than 40 officers were injured during the ‘mass disorder’, in which the windows of the police station were smashed and several vehicles set alight.
The demonstration was organised to show discontent towards the Government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill – with the riots subsequently dubbed ‘Kill the Bill’ protests.
The jury heard that Yarde, described as a ‘committed social justice activist’, disarmed the officer of their baton and kicked their riot shield ‘to ward off attack in the face of excessive force from police officers’.
BACKLASH AT BARRING OF REPORTER
In June, ITV joined the BBC in boycotting Bristol Council’s mayoral briefings after the council banned a local reporter for daring to ask Labour mayor Marvin Rees if he saw the irony in flying to Canada to give a short speech on climate change.
In a clip which went viral, Local Democracy Reporter Alex Seabrook was interrupted by a press officer who questioned whether he should be allowed to ask this question.
He and other LDRs have since been banned by Bristol Council but other journalists and organisations have rallied behind him in support – with the BBC yesterday, June 23, deciding to boycott Bristol Council.
ITV West Country have now joined the BBC and have pledged not to attend or cover any of the mayoral briefings until this ban is lifted.
Ian Axton, Head of News at ITV West Country said: ‘ITV News West Country stands by other media organisations on this issue. We will not attend the fortnightly press briefings held by the Mayor until the exclusion of Local Democracy Reporters is lifted.’
In the cringeworthy virtual press conference, Saskia Konynenburg, head of communications at Bristol City Council, said that she did not think the reporter’s question on the mayor’s 9,200-mile round trip in April to give a climate talk was ‘legitimate’.
A spokesman for Bristol City Council confirmed there had been a ‘long-standing’ agreement the reporters wouldn’t be sent.
They said: ‘There has been a long-standing mutual agreement between the Mayor’s Office and the Post about personnel attending press conferences whenever they are announced and held, and that LDR’s would not be sent due to the narrow definition of their role as an impartial service.’
However, this has been disputed by Bristol Live editor Pete Gavan, who said: ‘In the past, we had agreed to send other reporters to the mayoral briefings when possible but reserved the right to send the LDRs.’
IT’S NOT A MAN’S WORLD
In July, reports emerged that the University of Bristol had outlawed words like ‘mankind’ and ‘millennial’ to avoid causing offence – while terms such as ‘manpower’ were to be replaced with ‘workforce’.
Bosses at the Russell Group universities fear the everyday expressions contribute to stigmas and can have negative associations, reports the Sun.
At Bristol, students and faculty have allegedly been told to replace the word ‘manning’ with ‘stationed’, while ‘able-bodied’ people should now be called ‘non-disabled’.
The 146-year-old university, which counts stars like Simon Pegg, David Walliams and Matt Lucas as alumni, has also asked that generational nicknames like ‘boomers’ and ‘millennials’ be avoided.
As part of its style guide, ‘humankind’ should also replace ‘mankind’, while ‘workforce’ should be used instead of ‘manpower’.
In its writing style guide on its website, under ‘specific terminology’, it reads: ‘Avoid using generational labels (‘Generation X’, ‘Baby Boomers’, ‘Millennials’) where possible.
‘These can reinforce negative stereotypes, and the terms are not easily understood, especially by some international audiences.’