Museum tour guide won't speak about the battered statue of slave trader Edward ...

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Still screened by protective glass, the battered statue of slave trader Edward Colston lies in a museum store room next to steam engine components, old chocolate wrappers and various other antiquities.

The bronze sculpture bears the red and blue graffiti from the Black Lives Matter protest in June 2020 when it was torn from its plinth in Bristol city centre, rolled through the streets and dumped in the harbour.

Museum visitors can view the statue, but only by booking a place on a once-a-day behind-the-scenes tour. Those hoping for commentary on the controversial effigy will be disappointed.