Memorial for victims of slave trade to be erected in Docklands

The memorial will be built at West India Quay in London Docklands

A memorial for the victims of the transatlantic slave trade is to be erected in east London.

Sadiq Khan has committed £500,000 to develop the memorial in West India Quay in London Docklands to recognise the city's role in the trade itself.

The site has a history closely linked with the slave trade.

Historian and presenter Prof David Olusoga said the memorial would help Londoners "better remember the victims of slavery in the slave trade".

The plan has been developed by the mayor of London's commission for diversity in the public realm, which is working with communities to decide how the memorial will look.

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Mr Khan said it was important that public spaces reflect the heritage of London.

"We do not have a dedicated memorial in our capital to honour the millions of enslaved people who suffered and died as a result of this barbaric practice," he said.

"This memorial will help commemorate the victims of a dark, yet formative chapter of our history."

It is to be accompanied by a number of "satellite sites" around London to tell the stories of slavery across the capital.

The Canal and River Trust previously removed a statue of slaveholder Robert Milligan from West India Quay

West India Quay is home to warehouses which were built to receive the products of slavery and are thought to be the only surviving buildings of their kind in the capital.

It is also where the Museum of London Docklands is based, which has a London, Sugar and Slavery gallery with an exhibition dedicated to the city's involvement in slavery.

In 2020 a statue of noted slaveholder Robert Milligan was removed by the Canal and River Trust from outside the museum.

Speaking about the proposed memorial, author and broadcaster Afua Hirsch said: "This history haunts us all the more for having been forced into the shadows. May this be the first of many, many more steps towards making it visible, seen and understood."

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