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The Jacob Epstein sculpture was given to George W Bush by Tony Blair during his presidency, but was replaced with a bust of Martin Luther King by Barack Obama in 2009.



The outgoing President’s decision to remove the bust infuriated critics in Britain and the US.

GETTY The bust has been returned to the Oval Office for the first time in seven years.

But Obama defended himself with claims he kept the bust in his private quarters.



The Democrat said: “My private office is called the Treaty Room. Right outside the door of the Treaty Room so that I see it every day, including on weekends when I’m going into that office to watch a basketball game, the primary image I see is a bust of Winston Churchill.”



But this was not enough to convince critics, with then-London mayor Boris Johnson suggesting the decision was fuelled by what he labelled Obama’s “ancestral dislike of the British Empire”.

GETTY The bust was removed by Obama in 2010 and replaced with a bust of Martin Luther King.

REUTERS The bust was spotted during Mr Trump's inauguration proceedings.

Mr Trump suggested to the New York Times in November that he was ready to return the bust to the Oval Office.



When asked by the New York Times if he was going to bring back the bust of Britain’s esteemed Tory hero, Trump replied “I am, indeed, I am”.



Now, hours after his historic inauguration as the 45th president of the United States, Mr Trump had the bust returned to its former pride of place.

Donald Trump's historic inauguration in pictures Mon, January 23, 2017 The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States marked commencement of the four-year term as President and Mike Pence as Vice President. Play slideshow AP 1 of 40 President Donald Trump waves as he walks with first lady Melania Trump and son Barron during the inauguration parade.