BLM protesters vandalise Liverpool’s Penny Lane over fears it was named after a famous slaver

It’s one of the world's most famous streets, but Penny Lane in Liverpool has now been defaced by protesters claiming it is “racist”.

The famous street has been 'cancelled' because of its tenuous links to slavery.

English protesters have vandalised Liverpool’s famous Penny Lane over fears it was named after a slave trader.

Protesters blacked out the word “Penny” with spray paint on numerous street signs, last Thursday night.

However, the vandalism on the iconic street has been slammed as “pure ignorance” by historical experts.

It comes as monuments to slavers have been pulled down all over the country in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.

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The famous street has been 'cancelled' because of its name, which has tenuous links to slavery.

City tour guide Jackie Spencer, who runs Blue Badge Tour Guides, said she was "absolutely livid".

"It's pure ignorance," she said.

"We've researched it and it has nothing to do with slavery. James Penny was a slave trader, but he had nothing to do with the Penny Lane area."

@mayor_anderson @lpoolcouncil @bluebadgeguide So angry I cant speak right now. Please retweet everywhere. Penny lane is NOT named after James Penny!!! pic.twitter.com/dSchEDqdmy

— Jackie Spencer (@jacarandajac) June 12, 2020

The city's International Slavery Museum said it was not certain whether the street, which was immortalised in a song by The Beatles in 1967, was named after the 18th Century slave merchant.

A spokeswoman said "more research is needed" to clarify the name's origin.

Our thoughts on Penny Lane’s history, the research into its name and the need to be responsive to new evidence. pic.twitter.com/PAweUw2vCK

— International Slavery Museum (@SlaveryMuseum) June 12, 2020

Local resident Emmett O'Neill, who has helped clean the paint from the signs, told the BBC he thought it was "an idiotic act".

"If you want something removed, there's ways and means," he said.

"Defacing Penny Lane signs isn't going to change a lot. It's the wrong way to go about things."

Several of the road's signs already had a large amount of graffiti on them, much of it Beatles-related, with one even bearing the signature of Sir Paul McCartney.

Liverpool city's mayor, Joe Anderson, said he was "frustrated" by the "defacement of our street signs".

"(It) does nothing to further advance the argument and the debate around Black Lives Matter here in Liverpool," he said.

"It isn't just about the artefacts and street names, it's also about how we change the fundamental things that are causing disadvantage and inequality within our city."

Penny Lane is vibrant, full of happiness with diverse businesses and an open-minded community. It attracts tourists every day, who want pictures by the street sign for one of The Beatles iconic songs. The vandalism of those signs is abysmal. There is no known link to James Penny

— Dominic King (@DominicKing_DM) June 12, 2020

Liverpool was Europe's most used slave port by 1740 and many of its streets have names linked to slavery.

Liverpool merchant James Penny captained 11 voyages carrying slaves and had his own shipping company, James Penny & Co.

He was one of several Liverpool traders who spoke in favour of slavery at a parliamentary inquiry into the slave trade set up in 1788.

When Penny returned to Liverpool, the city's corporation, which was dominated by those with slaving interests, presented him with a silver-plated table centrepiece in gratitude