Campaigners and politicians have condemned the University of Oxford for backtracking on its previous decision to remove a statue of the British imperialist Cecil Rhodes and ignore the views of an independent commission. A majority of the commission’s members supported the expressed wish of the governing body to remove the statue. The college said a majority of the submissions to the commission backed the retention of the statue. “The statement from Oriel College is shocking and, quite frankly, embarrassing. As an alternative to taking down the statue, Oriel says they will increase provisions for BAME students.

Source: The Guardian May 20, 2021 10:38 UTC