A picture of Theresa May has been removed from the walls of her old geography department at Oxford University after students complained she was a “contentious figure in a department with many EU citizens and de-colonial scholars”.

A portrait of Mrs May was put on the walls of a stairwell at the university’s School of Geography and the Environment last week as a part of a celebration of the department’s female alumnae.

However, after a protest by students – channelled through a social media account called ‘NotAllGeographers” – the picture has been removed, Cherwell, the university's student newspaper, reported.

A spokesman for Oxford University said the portrait was taken down to avoid more protests and will be re-will be "re-displayed so it can be seen as intended".

Mrs May, who graduated with a second-class degree from St Hugh’s in 1977, was originally one of twelve alumnae to feature in the display which was intended to “aim to inspire the next generation of women geographers to aim high in their future careers”.