The debate over Captain Cook's legacy

Look almost anywhere in Middlesbrough, and you'll see the name of this town's most famous son. The man whose voyages of discovery changed our knowledge of the world. Some modern eyes though see a ruthless colonialist - whose statues should perhaps be removed, and a pub, a road - and Middlesbrough's hospital, also renamed.

Simon Clarke, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland has now vowed he will use 'all the energy he possesses' to keep the explorer's statue standing in Middlesbrough.The backlash has led to calls for calm, not least from the organiser of Middlesbrough's Black Lives Matter movement. This, he says, is a chance for the whole of Cook's history to be told, statue or no statue.