Texas University removes Confederate statues calling them 'symbols of modern white supremacy'

The University of Texas has quickly removed statues of Robert E Lee and other prominent Confederate figures from the main area of its Austin campus, just hours after the school's president ordered they be taken down.

University President Greg Fenves abruptly announced late on Sunday that the statues would be removed, saying such monuments have become "symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism".