Regal pose: Margaret Thatcher as Queen Victoria in one of the posters (Picture: Peter Kennard)

Posters featuring Margaret Thatcher that were due to be displayed at Westminster Tube station have been banned by advertising bosses.

The late prime minister was to appear in six portraits that first ran in an exhibition at Gallery Different in central London, which opened on the day of Lady Thatcher’s funeral last Wednesday.

CBS Outdoor, which sells advertising space on the London Underground, said using the images would breach Transport for London (TfL) guidelines.

One poster features the late Tory leader as Queen Victoria and another, an alternative take on Peter Paul Ruben’s The Assumption of the Virgin Mary, replacing Mary’s face with Mrs Thatcher’s.




Westminster station is the closet to the Houses of Parliament.

Pastiche: Margaret Thatcher’s face replaces the Virgin Mary (Picture: Ben Moore)

A CBS Outdoor spokeswoman told the BBC: ‘If an advert has messages or images that relate to public controversy or sensitivity it will not be run.’

The advert was not been referred to the independent regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority, she added.

CBS Outdoor said it reserves the right to refuse a poster design without providing specific reasons under its copy approval policy.

‘CBS Outdoor will endeavour to refer to the guidelines laid down by our franchise partners who include London Underground, London Buses and all of our other bus, rail and tram franchises,’ she added.

TfL said the decision had been CBS Outdoor’s.

‘Our advertising contractor took the view that it could have been considered insensitive to have displayed the posters at the time of Baroness Thatcher’s funeral,’ it added.

‘As her funeral has passed, they will be happy to consider them again.’

Ben Moore, from Art Below, said was hopeful the decision would be overturned or ‘the guidelines will evolve to reflect a more democratic state’.

He added he wanted passengers at Westminster station to enjoy a ‘refreshing alternative of the Thatcher icon’.