He claimed the local authority had no right to install it in the first place. īobby Dundas, seven times great-grandson of the 18th century politician whose statue towers over St Andrew Square, has maintained the ‘Melville Monument Committee’ (MMC) acted within the law in September when it took down the plaque which hasn’t been returned to the council. They also called for “an update on the prosecution process”.

In the motion passed at the City Chambers on Thursday, December 14, councillors expressed “dismay and shock” that “the perpetrator has openly admitted to the crime but does not yet seem to be facing arrest or charge”. Police Scotland recently re-opened an investigation into the “theft” and a spokesperson said information received from the council “is currently being assessed”. A replacement plaque explaining Henry Dundas’ ‘instrumental’ role in delaying abolition of the slave trade is to be installed on Edinburgh’s Melville Monument.Ĭity councillors agreed that a new bronze plaque should be fitted on the base of the controversial 150ft statue within two months after the original one was removed by members of the Dundas family.

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