"I find this portrait unsettling."
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Sir Keir Starmer has had a portrait of Margaret Thatcher removed from No 10 Downing Street, according to his biographer.
Tom Baldwin said that the prime minister found the £100,000 painting, which was commissioned by Gordon Brown, “unsettling” – sparking outrage among Conservative MPs.
Speaking at an event organised by Glasgow’s Aye Write book festival, Mr Baldwin said that after Sir Keir took office, they met at No 10 for a private conversation.
He said: “We sat there, and I go: ‘It’s a bit unsettling with her staring down as you like that, isn’t it?’”
Sir Keir replied yes and, when asked whether he would “get rid of it”, the prime minister nodded, according to Mr Baldwin.
Mr Baldwin added: “And he has.”
The artwork was commissioned after Mr Brown invited Mrs Thatcher to tea after he suceeded Tony Blair in 2007, and was paid for by an anonymous donor and is the first of a former prime minister to be commissioned by Downing Street.
Here's the "unsettling" portrait:
Oh, sorry 'bout that, LOL.
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Yup, kind of goofy that the picture would bother him.
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If it upset the Conservatives it’s worth spending a little time taking care of it.
Hopefully they re-hung it somewhere appropriate. My vote would be the downstairs bathroom.
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