Margaret Thatcher’s statue has been vandalised for the second time in just a fortnight after it was first unveiled.
The newly installed statue has been defaced yet again, this time the target of a paint attack.
Around mid-morning today, a person was caught on CCTV “acting suspiciously near the site”.
The vandal spray painted a hammer and sickle onto the barriers surrounding the statue and also threw paint over the statue itself.
Worth £300,000, the sculpture of Britain’s first female prime minister was unveiled only two weeks ago in her hometown of Grantham, Lincolnshire.
It didn't last two hours before it was egged.
Art centre deputy director Jeremy Webster, 59, was ordered to pay £90 for throwing an egg at the statue on the day it was unveiled.
A spokesperson for Lincolnshire Police said: “Just before 11.15pm on 28 May, we received reports of a person shown on CCTV acting suspiciously near the site.
“Officers attended and found graffiti had been spray painted onto the barriers surrounding the statue, and investigations are continuing into possible damage to the statue itself.
“This is being treated as criminal damage and an enquiry is ongoing.”
Pictures show paint splattered up the former prime minister’s back and the communist symbol spray painted onto the surrounding fence.
The 10ft-high granite memorial was initially intended to be erected in Parliament Square.
However, it was moved due to fears it may become the centre of protest and attract public activism.
Reports originally presented to South Kesteven District Council showed the statue was moved to the area due to fears of a “motivated far-left movement… who may be committed to public activism”.
In 2020, after a £100,000 large scale unveiling ceremony was approved by the council, a Facebook group sprung up calling for an “egg-throwing contest”.
The event attracted interest from over 13,000 people with a further 2,400 saying they would go to another event which would involve “egg throwing … and potentially graffiti art”.
As a result of the warning, the council installed a CCTV camera directly opposite the statue.
Leader of South Kesteven District Council Kelham Cooke told The Metro: “we must never hide from our history”, adding it is “appropriate the debate that surrounds her legacy takes place here in Grantham”.
He said: “This memorial statue of the late Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven will be a fitting tribute to a truly unique political figure.
“Margaret Thatcher will always be a significant part of Grantham’s heritage. She and her family have close ties with Grantham. She was born, raised and went to school here.
