Black Lives Matter: Portsmouth City Council to turn Spinnaker Tower purple to show support

From tomorrow, the 170m tower will be lit up in purple each night for a week by Portsmouth City Council.

The Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Councillor Rob Wood, said: ‘Following the tragic death of George Floyd, and the Black Lives Matter protests in the USA and UK, the council recognises it is important that it shows its support for the Black Lives Matter movement, and stands with those from the city and around the world who continue to experience racism and discrimination.

‘The Spinnaker Tower is the city's most visible symbol - lighting it in purple is a demonstration of our commitment to making change happen.

‘As a city we must continually strive to be a better society tomorrow than we were today. We must start by recognising and acknowledging the discrimination that still exists.

‘We must listen to those who continue to live with discrimination, so we can understand, respect and learn from their experiences. We will start by listening to the whole community so we can work together to make real change happen.’

Last week hundreds of people packed Portsmouth's Guildhall Square in a peaceful protest against racism and the death of George Floyd.

Today Guards of Honour Portsmouth UK set up camp in the city centre to protect memorials from anticipated vandalism following graffiti daubed on the Cenotaph in London.

Many in the group are veterans who wore berets and medals to make clear they were not out to cause trouble.

A man, who was holding a bike and wearing a helmet, gatecrashed the gathering this afternoon to offer his solitary resistance to those standing guard before being rounded on by members of the group and led away.

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