A former government MP has branded Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the Minister of Public Works, as “arrogant and ignorant” over the way he justified demolishing a slave owner’s house linked to Mary Prince.

Rolfe Commissiong launched the attack after Colonel Burch said he was “incensed” at being criticised by White people over the decision.

The minister, who noted that he was descended from slaves, dismissed the concern as “false outrage”, saying that Watlington House, which has ties to the national hero Mary Prince, should have been knocked down years ago.

Mr Commissiong said there would be uproar if the South African Government destroyed historic sites associated with the country’s racist past such as Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner for 18 of his 27 years in jail.

He said: “Hearing Colonel Burch's comments in response to the justified criticism he received for his callous decision to demolish the Ocean View site connected to Mary Prince and her mother, who was enslaved by the Watlingtons, actually betrayed on his part a profound arrogance, ignorance and contempt that is a frankly disturbing although not surprising.

“Following Mr Burch’s deeply flawed logic, what would be the reaction globally in response to the South African Government's demolition of Robben Island, the prison where Nelson Mandela spent decades incarcerated?

“Or, similarly, would the Government of Senegal escape condemnation for destroying the former slave fort on Gorée island, where tens of thousands visit every year, many from the African diaspora?

“And what of the slave fort in Ghana, Elmina Castle, that houses the Door of No Return? Similarly, thousands visit there as well.

“All of these sites are part of a global patrimony now and not just that which belongs to the respective country in question.

“We should think no less of our own historical patrimony in this regard.”

Mr Commissiong insisted that a memorial needed to be erected to Mary Prince at the site.

He said: “The minister … should turn his attention to throwing his considerable — but perhaps now waning — influence behind the recommendation to have a memorial established at that site as recommended.”

Mr Commissiong also said that Watlington House could have been used to highlight the island’s history and struggle against racism.

He said: “I assume he [Colonel Burch] has never heard of heritage tourism, of which our African Diaspora Trail, first established by former minister David Allen, was a prime example?

“And David Allen was White and of Anglo descent — he was also the Progressive Labour Party’s first tourism minister.

“This emerging sector within the global tourism sector continues to grow.

“The world's continued interest in the African diaspora, its history and culture emanating out of the Atlantic slave trade and its plantation and mining-based economy is perhaps the niche that has experienced the greatest growth over the last quarter century or so.”

Mr Commissiong, who was the MP for Pembroke South East for eight years, said in August 2020 that he would not stand in that year’s General Election after an incident from two years earlier when a comment that he “shouldn’t have” made to a woman was made public.