A row has broken out over a portrait of Theresa May which was removed from the walls of her alma mater, the University of Oxford, after students and academics objected to her being included in a celebration of female geographers.

The picture of the prime minister, who graduated from St Hugh’s College with a second-class degree, was put up on the walls of the school of geography and the environment last week as part of an exhibition intended to inspire the next generation of female geographers.

Days later it was removed after members of the school objected to her inclusion without consultation and mounted the Twitter campaign #NotAllGeographers.

A counter-campaign then took off, #PutThePortraitBack, featuring reactions from Conservative MPs, including the universities minister and fellow Oxford graduate Sam Gyimah, who said May was an inspiration and the portrait should be rehung.

Sam Gyimah MP (@SamGyimah) Utterly ridiculous story from Oxford where now even portraits are being no-platformed. Politics aside @theresa_may is only our second female PM & an inspiration to many. The faculty should get a grip & put the portrait back in a more prominent place - I'll be happy to unveil it!

The university announced the picture would be reinstated, insisting it had not been removed to make any political point or express solidarity with protesters.

“The portrait was being increasingly obscured by posters bearing mainly humorous satirical messages,” a spokesman said. “It has now been taken down and will be re-displayed so it can be seen as intended.”

Downing Street said May’s views on the importance of the visibility of women in senior positions were well known, pointing to her speech to mark the centenary of women’s suffrage, where she said women should not be intimidated from public roles by abuse.



No 10 declined to engage with the specific incident. “I haven’t discussed this with the PM and it will be a matter for the college,” her spokesman said.

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NotAllGeographers lamented what they described as an assault on internal democracy.

The group told Cherwell, the university’s student newspaper: “Clearly at a time when there are issues with the Windrush scandal and the handling of Brexit [she is] a contentious figure in a department with many EU citizens and decolonial scholars.

“The main, and most basic, issue comes with the celebration of a sitting prime minister. Should a department align itself with the power of the day, when there are those who actively challenge it?

“It is unprecedented to celebrate state power in such a way (regardless of one’s political affiliation). For many geographers, the famous Doreen Massey being placed below her is also another kick in the teeth.”