There have been fears that statues of Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi in the UK could be toppled after both were named in a Welsh government report reviewing historical figures as “complicit” in colonialism and slavery. The report said that “many reputations have been brought into question” and “there is a need to assess the culpability or otherwise of individuals who are publicly commemorated and celebrated”.

Churchill, which has two buildings and 15 streets named in his honour, had been found to be “widely hated in South Wales mining communities for his actions as Home Secretary during the Tonypandy riots”, the report said. The report added that Churchill “expressed a belief in the superiority of the Anglo-Saxon race”, and was “opposed to dismantling the British Empire”, and failed “to take sufficient action to relieve the Bengal famine”.

The report also named Indian independence leader Gandhi, whose statue stands in the Welsh capital. Gandhi has been implicated for “racism against Black South Africans”. The reports have come amid the Black Lives Matter protests that questions the reputation of the former wartime Prime Minister Churchill and civil rights leader Gandhi.