Fury as statue of Baroness Thatcher is struck by eggs
Culprit outs himself by boasting on Twitter
A NEWLY-erected statue of Margaret Thatcher was pelted with eggs yesterday as protesters called for it to be removed.
A man was photographed throwing eggs at the memorial to the former Conservative prime minster less than two hours after it was put up in her hometown. Others booed it and shouted ‘tear it down’.
Jeremy Webster, 59, the deputy director of a publicly-funded arts centre, last night named himself on social media as the egg-thrower.
The demonstration came after the £300,000 statue was put on its plinth in Grantham, Lincolnshire, yesterday.
A video of a man hurling three eggs at the statue was later posted on Twitter. Only one egg hit home. Local Tory councillor Linda Wootten called the incident ‘very disrespectful’, adding: ‘It was obvious that something like this was going to happen – but we didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.’
Conservative MP Sir John Hayes, who represents the neighbouring constituency of South Holland and The Deepings, said: ‘Even in the glorious county of Lincolnshire there are some stupid people.
‘People should be immensely proud of Margaret Thatcher, whether they voted for her or not, as she remains one of the most important PMs not just of the last century but of all centuries.’
A spokesman for Lincolnshire Police said: ‘We have received reports of criminal damage to the Margaret Thatcher statue shortly after 10am this morning. No arrests have been made. Inquiries are ongoing.’
Mr Webster, deputy director of the Attenborough Arts Centre at the University of Leicester, was yesterday unavailable to comment at his home.
The property in the town happens to be on the same street where Baroness Thatcher was born in 1925.
However, Mr Webster had earlier written on Twitter: ‘Grantham unveils Thatcher statue, so guess where we are going?’
An hour later, he said in an Instagram post: ‘Got the first hit with an egg.’
Robert Poll, founder of the Save Our Statues campaign group, started when the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol was torn down in 2020, branded the egg-thrower an ‘idiot’. Kelham Cooke, the Conservative leader of South Kesteven District Council, said: ‘We must never hide from our history and this memorial will be a talking point for generations to come.’
But its Labour group leader Lee Steptoe branded Baroness Thatcher as the ‘the most divisive PM in history’ and said that statues are ‘Victorian concepts’ with ‘no place in the 21st century.’
Baroness Thatcher, who died aged 87 in 2013, was Britain’s first female Prime Minister. She was in Downing Street from 1979 to 1990.
The statue was originally intended for Parliament Square in Westminster, but plans to put it there were rejected amid fears that it could become a target for hard-left vandals.
Created by sculptor Douglas Jennings, it depicts Mrs Thatcher dressed in the Baronial Gown of Kesteven and wearing the chain of the Order of the Garter.