Planned Margaret Thatcher statue needs protecting from vandals, police say
Written by News on 31/01/2019
A statue of Margaret Thatcher could be placed on a 10ft-high platform to stop vandals targeting it, police say.
Plans to install the £300,000 statue of the former prime minister in her home town of Grantham, Lincolnshire, will be voted on next week.
There are fears it could become a “likely target for politically-motivated vandals”.
As well as raising the statue, police have advised it be well-lit and be covered by CCTV.
Members of the South Kesteven District Council’s Development Management Committee will vote on the proposals next Tuesday.
A report based on the police’s threat assessment said: “The divisive nature of Baroness Thatcher due to her political career and policy legacy and the potential for this to result in vandalism has been raised as a concern.”
It continued: “In general there remains a motivated far-left movement across the UK (though not so much in Lincolnshire) who may be committed to public activism.
“Margaret Thatcher does however maintain an element of emblematic significance to many on the left and the passage of time does seem to have diminished that intensity of feeling.”
Plans to erect the statue in Westminster were rejected by Westminster Council last year, with a report which warned it could have attracted “potential vandalism and civil disorder”.
The only commemoration of Mrs Thatcher in her home town is a plaque to show where she was born.
(c) Sky News 2019: Planned Margaret Thatcher statue needs protecting from vandals, police say
