UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer removed the portrait of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Conservative Party), known as the 'Iron Lady,' from the Prime Minister's Office.
Portrait of former Prime Minister Daecheo within the Prime Minister's Office. During former Prime Minister Cameron's term in 2011 (left). [Photo by Yonhap News]
According to the British daily The Telegraph on the 29th (local time), Prime Minister Starmer took down the portrait hanging on the wall of the study at 10 Downing Street shortly after moving into the office.
Tom Baldwin, Starmer's biographer, said, "Prime Minister Starmer felt somewhat uncomfortable with the portrait of former Prime Minister Thatcher."
When he asked Starmer during a conversation in the 10 Downing Street study, "Isn't it a bit uncomfortable to have the portrait looking down like that?" the Prime Minister replied, "Yes, it is."
When Baldwin asked whether he would remove the portrait of former Prime Minister Thatcher, Starmer nodded, and the portrait subsequently disappeared from the wall.
The portrait was commissioned by former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown (2007?2010), who, like Starmer, is from the Labour Party, and was presented to Thatcher at a private reception in 2009.
At the time, it was planned to permanently display the portrait in the Prime Minister's residence to honor Thatcher, the UK's first female head of government.
The news that Starmer had taken down Thatcher's portrait immediately sparked backlash from the Conservative Party.
Former Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg criticized it as "petty thinking" and said it was "an inappropriate decision for a Prime Minister who represents not only a party but the nation."
Conservative MP Greg Smith also condemned Starmer as a "petty person," saying, "There is no respect at all for our history and former Prime Ministers."
Conservative figures argued that Thatcher was a representative figure in British politics and demanded that her portrait be returned to its place.
The Prime Minister's Office did not respond to media inquiries regarding this matter.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
