Statues: Royston Museum curator removes damage 'manual' tweets

Madeline Odent runs Royston Museum with an assistant and about 40 volunteers

A museum curator has deleted tweets listing substances that could be used to damage statues after she was spoken to by police.

In the posts, Madeline Odent, of Royston Museum, Hertfordshire, listed substances that would render statues "extremely difficult" to fix.

The tweets came amid calls for statues of slave traders to be removed as part of the Black Lives Matter campaign.

Hertfordshire Police said it had given "strong words of advice".

The statue of Edward Colston was dragged through Bristol before being thrown into the harbour

On Sunday campaigners pulled down a statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol, leading to the removal of another statue in London and demands that many others of figures linked to the slave trade be taken down.

In the tweets, from what Ms Odent describes as her "very, very personal account", she said it would be an "absolute shame" if "certain household items" were thrown at statues because they would cause "irreversible bronze disease".

When someone replied that they could not believe a museum curator was "offering an instruction manual" on how to damage statues, she responded: "No, I'm pretty sure I'm telling people how to avoid damaging precious and extremely valuable relics of history, without which we would immediately forget about the entirety of the British Empire".

Police said that following the comments, they had "spoken to all of the parties concerned".

In a statement, the force said: "Strong words of advice have been issued with regards to the content of the tweets and the use of social media, and the information has now been removed."

Royston Town Council, which runs the museum, also said it was investigating.

In a tweet, it added: "The town council does not endorse the comments or views expressed."

The BBC has approached the authority for further comment but has been unable to reach Ms Odent.

Oliver Heald, Conservative MP for North East Hertfordshire, said the tweets were "completely unwarranted and wrong" and he "deplored criminal damage to national monuments and statues in public places".

"It is important to respect the rule of law and there is a democratic and lawful process to remove statues," he said.

"I condemn providing information on how to destroy statues."