NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
A man who egged a Margaret Thatcher statue just hours after it was installed in her hometown has been fined.
Jeremy Webster, 59, has been ordered to pay £90.
The £300,000 statue of the former Prime Minister had been lowered into place in Grantham, Lincolnshire on May 15.
Hours later, Mr Webster was pictured walking towards the sculpture armed with a box of free-range eggs.
His partner filmed as he started to hurl the eggs toward the statue.
His fourth attempt was successful and shouts of ‘oi’ could be heard as shards of shell and egg residue slid down Baroness Thatcher’s stone dress.
Mr Webster, revealed to be a deputy director at the University of Leicester’s Attenborough Arts Centre, has now been fined following the incident.
A spokesperson from Lincolnshire Police said: ‘We have spoken with a 59-year-old man in relation an incident involving eggs being thrown at a statue of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on 15 May.
‘He has been given a £90 fixed penalty notice under Section 5 of the Public Order Act.
‘The statue continues to be monitored by CCTV.’
Previously, the University of Leicester said the egg-based protest would be investigated ‘in line with the university’s own procedures.’
Kerry Law, chief marketing and engagement officer at the University of Leicester, said: ‘The University of Leicester has a long-standing history of supporting art, fostering creativity and protecting creative freedom.
‘It does not condone any form of defacement and takes any act of defacement extremely seriously.
‘This matter will be addressed in line with the university’s own procedures.’
The 10ft-high granite memorial to Baroness Thatcher was originally intended for Parliament Square in Westminster.
But it was moved to the town due to fears of a ‘motivated far-left movement… who may be committed to public activism’.
After a large-scale £100,000 unveiling ceremony was approved by South Kesteven District Council in 2020, a Facebook group proposed an ‘egg-throwing contest’ at the event.
More than 2,400 people confirmed they would take part in ‘egg throwing’ and ‘potentially graffiti art’.
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As a result of the warning, the council installed a CCTV camera directly opposite the statue.
The Conservative leader of South Kesteven council, Kelham Cooke, previously said the town shouldn’t ‘hide its history.’
He added: ‘Margaret Thatcher will always be a significant part of Grantham’s heritage.
‘We hope that this memorial will encourage others to visit Grantham and to see where she lived and visit the exhibition of her life in Grantham Museum.’
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