> Council leaders in Hartlepool have decided a plaque must be placed on its famous monkey statue to explain its origins in case people are offended by it following the Black Lives Matter protests and scrutiny over statues. > The statue, at the town's marina, was placed there to represent a tale about a monkey which was mistaken for a French spy in the Napoleonic War and subsequently hanged. > Legend states that the animal was the only survivor of a shipwreck off the northeast coast of England and because the villagers had never seen a monkey before, they mistook it for a Frenchman and convicted it of being a spy. ...and... > "We have not received any complaints about the statue, and in fact it helps raise around £2,000 a year for charity thanks to the coins deposited within it by visitors > "In putting up an explanatory sign, we intend to liaise closely with the marina's current owners, Hartlepool Marina Ltd." They haven't even received complaints. They're so afraid they *might* receive one that they're trying to avoid the drama. Streisand Effect, anyone?