From reading the article, it sounds like Netflix made this decision of their own accord, and not because particular groups were calling for it (did I miss something?). It's a pure business decision, and, as such, this seems the right appraisal (though saying that comedy history is getting "smashed" is absurdly hyperbolic; it's getting pulled from Netflix, dude):
The comedian Jack Carroll tweeted that the decision to remove the comedy was a way for Netflix to avoid any “real work” to counteract racism. “It’s an arbitrary gesture that means they don’t have to put any real work into combatting actual instances of racial discrimination and comedy history is getting smashed in the process. Glad I kept hold of my DVD’s,”
I don't know about the history of blackface in England, but in the US it's sordid, and there's good reason to be upset about it. Whether calling for streaming platforms to stop hosting films that include it is the best response to that upset is another matter. It may surprise you, Mark, but I tend to come down on the side that it's not.