Margaret Thatcher statue egged within hours of it being installed

Warnings that a new statue of Margaret Thatcher would attract egg-throwing protests came true within two hours of it being installed in her home town of Grantham on Sunday.

The bronze statue was, without ceremony, placed on a 3-metre (10ft) high plinth to make it more difficult for protesters to inflict any damage.

The egg-throwing came as a surprise to nobody in Grantham. There is pride but also heightened awareness of how divisive a figure Thatcher remains.

After it was installed on a warm Sunday morning, a number of people stopped to take selfies. But loud booing could also be heard from passing motorists.

Councillor Kelham Cooke, the Conservative leader of South Kesteven council, said the statue was a fitting tribute to a unique political figure.

The statue, made by the sculptor Douglas Jennings, was originally intended to stand close to parliament but it was rejected by Westminster council in 2018. Councillors said it was too soon after her death, in 2013.

That event was abandoned and in strikingly low-key fashion the statue was lowered into place on Sunday morning. An official unveiling by the Public Memorials Appeal (PMA), which funded the £300,000 statue through public donations, would take place at a later date, the council said.

Graham Jeal, a trustee of GCHA, said there had been a long conversation in Grantham about having a permanent memorial to Thatcher.

Lincolnshire police confirmed it had received reports of criminal damage to the statue but no arrests had been made and inquiries were ongoing.