Less than two hours after its installation on Sunday May 15, after several years of controversy, the statue of the former "Iron Lady", erected in her hometown of Grantham in eastern England, was targeted by a man who saw a box of eggs in his hand.
She was also booed by motorists.
Local police said they received a damage report on Sunday morning, but made no arrests.
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On Monday May 16, the imposing granite plinth of the statue honoring former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was tarped and the statue, surrounded by a double row of metal barriers also covered with tarpaulins, according to a photographer from the AFP.
A surveillance camera would have been installed in front of the memorial.
CARL RECINE / REUTERS
Margaret Thatcher died in 2013 but the policy she pursued between 1979 and 1990, a mixture of ultra-liberalism and austerity, still makes her a divisive figure in British society.
The bronze depicts her dressed in the traditional dress of members of the House of Lords, where she sat from 1992, and wearing the chain of the Order of the Garter, the most prestigious of British chivalry.
Margaret Thatcher
"was born, raised and educated"
in Grantham, local official Kelham Cooke said.
“It is therefore fitting that she is commemorated by her home town and that the debate over her legacy takes place here in Grantham,”
he added, stressing that
“one must never hide from her story and that the memorial will be a topic of discussion for generations to come
.
In 2018, the local authority in Westminster, however, rejected the proposed statue, saying it was not the
"appropriate design"
.
The project had also raised fears that the work could become the target of vandals.
But local council in Grantham had voted to erect the three-metre-tall statue in February 2019, originally intended to be installed near the UK parliament building in Westminster, London.
According to local authorities in Grantham, a CCTV camera has been installed in front of the memorial to try to deter potential vandals.
The official inauguration ceremony of this monument is scheduled for a later date.