Sir Keir Starmer backs plans for locals to have a say on controversial statues but says it is not a 'priority'

Sir Keir Starmer has backed a policy for local people to have a say on controversial statues and street names in their area, but said it should not be a "priority" during the coronavirus crisis.

Asked whether he supports statues being taken down and streets renamed in some instances, the Labour leader said communities are “entitled to express a view”, but added: “I’m not sure I see it as a priority in terms of what we’re living through”.

“If I was living in a community, I probably would like to express a view one way or the other, and I think that’s not a bad thing,” he told LBC.

Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor, has established a “Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm”, which he said would “develop a more joined-up approach” in commemoration of London’s history.

The Commission was established after the toppling of the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol, and is reviewing street names, statues, murals and other public art.

Gaylene Gould, who sits on the Mayor’s Cultural Leadership Board, said some statues in London had become “problematic because they cannot be contested”.

But Aindrea Emelife, an art historian on the commission, said it was “not just about removing statues” and would focus on “creating new commissions that will inspire generations”.

The Mayor’s office said the group was “not being established to preside over the removal of statues” in London.

Sir Keir said he had not spoken to Mr Khan about his commission but that he supported public memorials being reviewed “city by city, region by region”.

The Labour leader previously condemned Black Lives Matter protesters who toppled Colston’s statue as “completely wrong”, arguing that statues should only be removed “with consent”, then placed in a museum.