New rules to stop woke zealots tearing down statues will be announced under ‘common sense’ crackdown

A CRACKDOWN on woke zealots trying to tear down statues will be unveiled in a common-sense charter.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer today announced measures to stop radicals trying to “erase our history”.

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Winston Churchill’s statue has been targeted by protesters before[/caption]

Monuments of historical figures with chequered pasts have been targeted by protesters in recent years.

New rules will make clear that bosses should keep statues as they are “as a default” position – but can “complement” them with a historical explainer “based on fact, not feelings”.

Ms Frazer hopes the “retain and explain” guidance – to be published in the next fortnight – will protect those in charge from being forced into “knee-jerk removals”.

She hit out at critics who “cast Churchill as villain, not as the man who kept Britain free”.

Speaking at the Tory conference in Manchester, she said: “Unlike some of those in the Labour Party, I am not ashamed of our great country’s culture, its people or its past. I do not want to bring down our statues or our monuments.

“I believe in the British people. What some call culture wars, I say, is standing up for our principles. Pride, tolerance, understanding, learning, respect, fairness and common sense.

“For not erasing our history. And why I will be shortly publishing new guidance on retain and explain for statues – so that rather than tearing down our history we can understand it.”