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Theresa May has suggested a planned statue of Margaret Thatcher should go ahead after it was blocked over fears it does not have the blessing of her family - and could be vandalised.

Backers had hoped the reported £300,000 memorial would join the likes of Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela in Parliament Square.

The Public Memorials Appeal Trust saw their application derailed, with one objection saying the Tory leader's divisive legacy could leave the statue open to vandalism.

Since then Labour chairman Ian Lavery has now said it would be "wholly inappropriate" and "be seen as an insult to those whose communities and livelihoods were destroyed under her premiership."

He told the Mirror: "Working class people in this country would not stand for a Tory shrine in the heart of our capital city, that would rightly be seen as glorifying the destruction of her administration. This can not be tolerated."

Yet Theresa May intervened today - by saying the threat of vandalism must not stop the statue going ahead.

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

She told reporters at the G20 in Hamburg: “What I’m very clear about is there should be no suggestion that the threat of vandalism should stop a statue of Margaret Thatcher from being put up.”

Downing Street later insisted that despite the Prime Minister's comments, the decision was one for Tory-run Westminster Council.

A No10 spokeswoman said: "The decision is actually the council decision, I understand. It's a planning application to Westminster Council so they have to make the final decision on it.

"What the Prime Minister also suggested is there are a few issues around this and they need to be resolved. But the decision is the council's, not governments."

Asked if Theresa May supports the idea of a statue of Margaret Thatcher, the spokeswoman said: "Statues are a key part of this country's national heritage. And the ones at Parliament Square in particular are important reminders of people who've played a very important part in the country's history."

During the planning process, the Thorney Island Society (TIS) said officials should follow a principle of waiting until 10 years after her 2013 death.

The group said: "While Lady Thatcher was also widely respected it cannot be said that she was uncontroversial in this country.

"There is a strong case for the 10-year rule to be respected - there should be a decent interval before permanent statues are erected, especially when they are controversial enough to risk vandalism."

(Image: Getty)

(Image: PA)

Among other concerns was that the trust could not guarantee that Baroness Thatcher's family consented to the statue, which was to stand on a stone plinth on the western edge of Canning Green.

In a letter to City of Westminster council, The Royal Parks said it was objecting to the application on behalf of the Government as the trust "failed to give the assurances [we] sought".

On Thursday the Royal Parks added: "Numerous times we have requested assurances from the applicant that they have approval from the family for the statue. To date we have not had those assurances."

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In 2002 a protester decapitated a £150,000 Italian marble statue of Lady Thatcher on display at London's Guildhall Library.

And there have also been cases of an existing resident of Parliament Square, Churchill, falling victim to vandals, including being defaced with graffiti.

The TIS said they were also dissatisfied with the quality of the design and its "understated and reverential character", saying it was "disappointing given that the Churchill statue is so much more interesting".

In a final slight the group said they understand "that Lady Thatcher's daughter dislikes the statue".

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The design, by sculptor Douglas Jennings, is said to show the Iron Lady in a "resolute posture looking towards Parliament with a stern gaze".

Ivan Saxton, co-founder of the Public Memorials Appeal Trust, said in 2016 that there was "talk that (Carol) didn't like it because it isn't made of iron, but she doesn't mind that it's not made of iron - Carol's upset that there's no handbag".

At the unveiling of her statue outside the House of Commons chamber in 2007, Lady Thatcher joked: "I might have preferred iron but bronze will do."