The original decision to remove the artwork was taken in 2005 by the Labour-controlled Council to allow Modus development company to build the Friars Walk shopping centre.

Modus were removed by the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition Council after taking control in 2008 and replaced with Queensbury Development Company Friars Walk.

[2][3] The mural celebrated the Chartist uprising of 1839, when John Frost led a march of thousands of protestors to the Westgate Hotel which was fired on by troops; some 22 demonstrators were killed.

[12][13] The demolition of the mural drew national as well as local condemnation, with Rob Williams of The Independent describing it as "indicative of the lack of regard for Welsh history and the triumph of the brute stupidity and disregard for the views of their constituents that many in authority have.

"[15] The council's Chief Executive, Will Godfrey, apologised to councillors for not informing them in advance of when the demolition was to occur, and stated that the process "was not underhand or undemocratic as has been suggested in some parts of the media".

[16] On 18 October Newport-born actor Michael Sheen published a full-page open letter, in local newspaper the South Wales Argus, in which he described the "irony of something that was created to celebrate those who risked much for the good of all, being wiped out without consulting the people themselves, and under the auspices of a Labour-led City Council serving the needs of profit above all else, is both absurd as well as tragic.

"[17] An editorial in the South Wales Argus on 31 October commented that "there is a lack of transparency and accountability at the top of the council that has now reached a stage where it is damaging Newport's reputation in the outside world.

[19] In November Michael Sheen spoke at a conference in Newport to mark the 175th anniversary of the events, and was invited by city council leader Bob Bright to chair a commission on the proposed replacement of the mural.

[22] In March 2014, former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said that destruction of the Chartist Mural in Newport was "a sad blow for the city".