A produced statue by a London-based artist of a protestor was quietly installed early on Wednesday morning in Bristol on the plinth of the statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston, which was pulled down on June 7, with a note left behind: ‘Black lives still matter’.

The BLM movement was sparked by the death of George Floyd in the US, with several protests and demands for statues and public spaces in the UK to be reviewed, renamed or restructured to remove vestiges of slavery and colonialism.

One of the images of the day Colston’s statue was pulled down and consigned to the Avon river was of Jen Reid, a protestor of Afro-Caribbean origin, who stood on the empty plinth with a raised fist. The image went viral, prompting artist Marc Quinn to produce the statue.

After Reid’s statue was illegally installed, she expressed her delight: “This is going to continue the conversation. I can’t see it coming down in a hurry.”

Marvin Rees, the Labour mayor of Bristol, said permission was not given for her statue to be installed, but said the people of Bristol will decide on its future: whether to retain it or install that of another person.

Rees said: “My relentless commitment is to build a city for all Bristolians, with all our differences. To this end, the future of the plinth and what is installed on it must be decided by the people of Bristol”.

“This will be critical to building a city that is home to those who are elated at the statue being pulled down, those who sympathise with its removal but are dismayed at how it happened and those who feel that in its removal, they’ve lost a piece of the Bristol they know and therefore themselves. We need change”.

Bristol in south-west England has a long history of slave trade, prompting demands that the city removes statues and reminders of the trade in public spaces. The police did not prevent Colston’s statue being pulled down on June 7. It has since been retrieved from the river, to be placed in a city museum.

Rees added: “We have set out a process to manage our journey. We have established a history commission which will help us tell our full city history. As we learn this fuller history including the part played by black people, women, the working class, trade unions, and children among others, we will be in a better position to understand who we are, how we got here and who we wish to honour”.

“Crucial to our heritage has been the harbour and the docks, manufacturing and industry, research and innovation, transport, slum clearances, housing, modern gentrification and faith. As the commission shares this information, the city will decide on city memorials and the future of the plinth.”