Protests force Oxford University to remove British PM’s portrait

Row echoes furore over refusal to award Margaret Thatcher an honorary degree in 1985

Aportrait of Theresa May has been removed by Oxford University following a protest from students and academics who complained that she was a “contentious figure” who failed to show compassion towards migrants.

The Prime Minister’s photograph had been mounted at Oxford’s School of Geography and the Environment last week as a part of a celebration of the department’s female alumnae.

However, after a protest — vhannelled through a social media account called Not All Geographers — the picture was removed.

Meanwhile, a picture of Doreen Massey, a far-Left radical academic who advised the government of Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s former president, remained in place.

The row echoes the furore over the refusal to award Margaret Thatcher an honorary degree in 1985.

‘To be re-displayed’

In a statement given to Cherwell, the student newspaper, the Not All Geographers group said: “Clearly at a time when there are issues with the -Windrush scandal and the handling of Brexit, [she is] a contentious figure in a department with many EU citizens and decolonial scholars.

“The main, and most basic, issue comes with the celebration of a sitting Prime Minister. Should a department align itself with the power of the day, when there are those who actively challenge it?

“For many geographers, the famous Doreen Massey being placed below her is also another kick in the teeth.”

A spokesman for the university said they have temporarily taken down Mrs May’s portrait to avoid any potential vandalism attempts, adding that it will be “re-displayed so it can be seen as intended” in due course.