A statue of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in England has been pelted with eggs just hours after it was unveiled. The incident took place yesterday in Grantham, Lincolnshire, the birthplace of the Iron Lady. The statue is now protected with additional fences and a surveillance camera.
A protester threw the eggs from behind a temporary fence around the memorial. No arrests have been made yet, according to local police. “We have received reports of damage to the statue of Mrs Thatcher. The investigation is ongoing,” said a police spokesman. The monument was also booed by passing motorists yesterday, but there were also people taking selfies.
The statue was just unveiled yesterday in Grantham. The artwork costs nearly £300,000 (350,000 euros) and was originally intended for Parliament Square in Westminster. There, however, the local authorities feared protest and damage.
In 2020, the City Council approved plans for an expensive unveiling ceremony in Grantham. A Facebook group was then created with the proposal to hold an ‘egg throwing contest’ during the ceremony. A formal unveiling ceremony is planned for a later date.
Meanwhile, the massive plinth is covered with tarpaulin and surrounded by a double row of metal fences, an AFP photographer reports. A security camera has also been installed to deter vandals, according to the municipality.
‘The Iron Lady’
Margaret Thatcher was the UK’s first female Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. Because of her neoliberal policies and massive austerity measures, she was nicknamed ‘the iron lady‘ or the Iron Lady.
Her premiership was notably marked by her war against Argentina over the Falkland Islands, the privatization of state-owned companies and the breaking of the power of the unions during the miners’ strikes of the 1980s.
The British politician had as many supporters as opponents, and her figure is still very controversial in British society. Shortly after her death in 2013, the song was Ding dong, the witch is dead very popular after a campaign by its critics.
Watch our news videos in the playlist below:
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss a thing from the stars.
#Statue #British #Prime #Minister #Thatcher #pelted #eggs #shortly #unveiling