Edinburgh council threatens legal action against relatives of Henry Dundas over stolen slavery plaque

Edinburgh council ‘in legal correspondence’ with Bobby Dundas over Melville Monument plaque

Edinburgh council has threatened legal action against descendants of Henry Dundas if they don’t return a stolen plaque which claimed the controversial 18th century politician was responsible for the enslavement of half a million Africans.

The brass plate was removed from the base of the Melville Monument in Edinburgh’s St Andrew Square last month, with a group led by a member of the Dundas family since claiming responsibility, arguing the council had “no authority” to install it in 2020.

Council leader Cammy Day said the matter had been reported to the police during a City Chambers meeting at the end of September. However Police Scotland said this week that “no criminality was established” following an initial investigation. The council is now “in legal correspondence” with Bobby Dundas and the Melville Monument Committee who have “been instructed to return the plaque and present a proposal to make good any damage to the Monument caused by removal”. The council said it “may consider legal action or further involving Police Scotland” if the demands are not met.

The plaque was removed from the base of the Melville Monument in St Andrew Square - now the council wants it restored and is threatening legal action. Picture: Lisa Ferguson.

Mr Dundas said in a statement the committee acted “completely within the law” and claimed it obtained “all the necessary permits” and ensured the owners of St Andrew Square “had no objection”. The group hopes to salvage Henry Dundas’ reputation after it was marred by accusations that over half a million Africans were enslaved as a direct result of his support for deferring abolition, which came to prominence following 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in St Andrew Square.

The plaque, installed by the council following the demonstrations, states that Dundas, the first Viscount Melville and the most powerful politician in Scotland in the late 18th century, was “a contentious figure, provoking controversies that resonate to this day”. It adds: “While Home Secretary in 1792 and first Secretary of State for War in 1796 he was instrumental in deferring the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade. Slave trading by British ships was not abolished until 1807. As a result of this delay, more than half a million enslaved Africans crossed the Atlantic. Dundas also curbed democratic dissent in Scotland.”

But Mr Dundas has slammed the inscription as being written by “non-historians at the height of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2020”. He said: “It is the height of hypocrisy for the city to object to removal of the plaque. The city should be concerned about its own unlawful acts.

“It had no authority to install the plaque without consent of the owners in the first place, and continues to defy an order to remove the large signs about the plaque in St Andrew Square. It is in no position to object to the removal of the plaque, which we have done in complete compliance with our legal obligations.”