Sir Keir Starmer removed a photograph of Margaret Thatcher from No. 10 Downing Street just weeks after taking office. According to his biographer, the prime minister found the artwork "unsettling" and requested that it be removed.Gordon Brown commissioned Baroness Thatcher's portrait, which was presented to the Iron Lady at a private reception in 2009. It was painted by Richard Stone, one of Britain's greatest portrait artists, and was meant to be displayed permanently in Downing Street.

The decision to take down the painting, first reported by The Herald, was revealed by Tom Baldwin, Sir Keir’s biographer, at an event organised by Glasgow’s Aye Write book festival.The former journalist reportedly said the Prime Minister delivered the news while the pair viewed the painting hanging in the former No. 10 study, unofficially known as the Thatcher Room.

Sir Keir had taken Mr. Baldwin up to the room, describing it as a “place where we can go and have a quiet talk." The biographer said, “We sat there, and I go, ‘It’s a bit unsettling with her staring down as you like that, isn’t it?’” According to Mr. Baldwin, Sir Keir replied, “Yeah.”

Asked whether he would “get rid of it,"  the Prime Minister allegedly nodded. Mr. Baldwin said, “And he has.” The decision has sparked a backlash from Conservatives, with Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg describing it as "petty-minded." He said it was “unbecoming of a Prime Minister who has a role representing the nation, not just his political faction." Greg Smith, a Tory MP, condemned what he described as “utter pettiness from Starmer,"  claiming the move showed he had “no respect for our history and previous prime ministers.”.

Murdo Fraser, a Scottish Tory leadership candidate, said: “It seems like a churlish move, but perhaps Sir Keir Starmer was intimidated by the gaze of a world-renowned leader whose achievements he will never come close to matching.”

Meghan Gallacher, who is also running to be leader of the Scottish Tories, said: “It’s disgraceful that Keir Starmer would remove a picture of Britain’s first female Prime Minister. Regardless of your opinions on Margaret Thatcher, she paved the way for women in politics and tackled sexist stereotypes head-on.