Outrage as Sir Keir Starmer removes £100,000 portrait of Margaret Thatcher in ‘petty’ move after PM found it ‘unsettling’.H
Keir Starmer has sparked fury by removing a portrait of margaret thatcher from her former study in No 10.
In a move branded ‘petty’, the Prime Minister had the £100,000 painting taken down from the Thatcher Room in Downing Street after reportedly finding it ‘unsettling’.
Painted by royal portrait artist Richard Stone, it depicts the Iron Lady at the height of her powers just after the Falklands War in 1982
It was commissioned by prime minister at the time, Gordon Brown, as a tribute to her achievements, and unveiled in No 10 in 2009.
The painting – which the artist hoped would stay in Downing Street ‘for ever’ – was the first of a former prime minister to be commissioned by Downing Street. Lady Thatcher was said to have been ‘honoured’.
Keir Starmer sparked fury yesterday by removing a portrait of Margaret Thatcher (pictured) from her former study in No 10
The Prime Minister (pictured in July) had the £100,000 painting taken down from the Thatcher Room in Downing Street after reportedly finding it ‘unsettling’
No 10 confirmed a claim by Sir Keir’s biographer Tom Baldwin that the portrait, which was funded by an anonymous donor, had been removed from the room, which the PM does not use as his study.
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The revelation sparked an immediate backlash from those who were close to Lady Thatcher, with Sir Keir accused of trying to appease the Left of his party.
Sir John Redwood, who headed Lady Thatcher’s policy unit, said: ‘I’m not at all surprised he’s done this. He wouldn’t want to be embarrassed by comparison with a far better prime minister.
‘He wants to drag Britain down, he’s pessimistic, he’s saying that we’re a shower, he’s blaming the British people and saying that we are the rot and he’s got to sort out the rot.
‘So I’m very relieved that he doesn’t want a portrait of Margaret Thatcher looking over him, and I can quite understand why he would find that deeply embarrassing.’
He added: ‘Margaret Thatcher believed in the British people and knew we had great opportunities and great talents and there was nothing we couldn’t do.
‘She was positive and optimistic, and he is pessimistic, negative and nasty.’
Margaret Thatcher standing next to a portrait of herself at 10 Downing Street, painted by artist Richard Stone, in 2009
Former Prime Minister returned to 10 Downing Street in 2009 to attend the unveiling of her portrait
Former Tory Cabinet minister Sir John Whittingdale, who served as Lady Thatcher’s political secretary, said: ‘It was the room she used and therefore it’s an important part of the history.
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‘I’m sad because that particular room was so much associated with her, it’s from where she took some great decisions affecting the people of this country and it’s right that it should be commemorated.’
Sir John said most Labour prime ministers had recognised that Lady Thatcher was an ‘enormously important figure’.
‘To do it quite so quickly… it looks like playing to the Left, who do not share most people’s admiration of her and he’s probably appeasing his Left-wing backbenchers.
‘But most people would recognise her importance to this country’s history and it is right that she is remembered for that.’
Conservative former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith branded the action ‘petty’, adding: ‘If you look at all the things that Sir Keir didn’t say a word about before that he’s now doing, and then as soon as he gets in he wants to get rid of Margaret Thatcher’s picture.
‘Why? Because that is red meat to his hard Left. It’s a very simple gesture that says to the hard Left, ‘don’t worry, I share your view of Thatcher as well’.’
No 10 confirmed a claim by Sir Keir’s biographer Tom Baldwin (pictured) that the portrait, which was funded by an anonymous donor, had been removed from the room
Conservative former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith (pictured last October) branded the action ‘petty’
He added: ‘It seems peculiarly petty to remove her picture from the office that she used, which nobody else has used, and which bears her name.’ Mr Baldwin said he was recently taken to the room where the picture was hung.
Sir Keir described the study as a ‘place where we can go and have a quiet talk’. ‘We sat there, and I go, ‘It’s a bit unsettling with her staring down at you like that, isn’t it?’ ‘ Mr Baldwin said the PM replied ‘yeah’, and the author asked him if he would ‘get rid of it’. Sir Keir nodded.
Last year Sir Keir praised Lady Thatcher for effecting ‘meaningful change’ in Britain, as he sought to win over Tory voters.
No 10 declined to comment.
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