THE MAIL readers have expressed their thoughts on revelations about how many South Cumbrian figures played an active role in the Atlantic slave trade.

New research published by the University College London’s Legacies of British Slave-ownership centre has identified a number of Cumbrian historical figures involved in slavery.

Dave said: “Do properties such as Storrs Hall have to be demolished now?

An anonymous commenter said: “British taxpayers, including Cumbrians, paid to free slaves across the world and put ourselves into so much debt in the process that it was only paid off in very recent years. But only focus on the negative, why don’t you?

"Again, it’s an agenda to paint us as morally deficient. We eradicated slavery from our culture.

"I would suggest UCL focus on cultures that still have slavery, then you might actually have a chance of doing some good.”

Sioux Denham said: “British taxpayers paid to compensate owners for the loss of their ‘assets’- the newly emancipated slaves got nothing.”

Brad Thud said: “Is it vandalising historic statues, chucking them in the river, smashing up this country’s heritage? This is nothing more than another effort by the extreme left to wreck society and destroy our very culture. On the streets we see the gutter trash, they’re pretty overt in their agenda; here we see the extreme leftist academics, the other side of the same coin, who approach the matter with a tad more circumspection, presenting it in the manner of just ‘throwing it out there’ for debate, when it’s clear to anybody with a brain that this means “You’re white and you’re the problem and if you don’t admit it you’re a racist."

Brady Cobbins said: “The first slaves in America were taken there by British people who went on to industrialise slavery on a mass scale.”

John Smith said: “Daft thing is many black people were enslaved by other black people in Africa. I don’t like it when others try to make me feel guilty for what others did.”