Why has it taken the horrific death of George Floyd in the US and the inspirational act in the UK of the dumping of Edward Colston’s statue into the sea - a man whose slaver captains threw slaves overboard - to get a debate started about racial prejudice?

In Britain, year after year, patronising reports from privileged people have been churned out, to little effect.

Black people remain under employed, underrepresented in higher education, the media and the arts; overrepresented in prisons, deaths through COVID, deaths in police custody.

There are many other areas of discrimination.

Still some people, like Derek Tipp (Letters, 16 June), are more concerned with distracting the debate by denouncing the damage done to inanimate statues and with cries of ‘cost to taxpayers’ than they are about the price paid in BAME lives and to their potential.

That is what is criminal.

Black Lives Matter more than objects.

Glyn Oliver

Southampton