3 months ago
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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he removed a portrait of Margaret Thatcher from his Downing Street study because he doesn't like "pictures of people staring down at me".
Speaking to Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Keir said he "didn’t want a picture of anyone" in his study and he preferred landscapes.
He added that he "might tolerate" a picture of former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry on his wall, but "that's about as far as I go".
The prime minister also told the programme his family had named their new kitten Prince.
The prime minister's decision to move the portrait of his Conservative predecessor, who served as PM from 1979 to 1990, angered some opposition politicians.
Former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel said: "56 days in office and [Sir Keir] seems to be spending more time removing portraits of great, strong Conservative female leaders, rather than getting on and doing the strong job of government."
Sir John Whittingdale, a Conservative MP who served as Lady Thatcher's political secretary, said Sir Keir was "probably appeasing his left-wing backbenchers", while former DUP leader Arlene Foster said it "looks and feels vindictive and petty."
The painting was commissioned in 2007 by Labour's then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown and was paid for, at a cost of £100,000, by an anonymous donor.
Sir Keir told the BBC the portrait had been moved to the prime minister's study by David Cameron.
He said his decision to take down the picture was "not actually about Margaret Thatcher at all".
"I don’t like images and pictures of people staring down at me, I’ve had it all my life.
"When I was a lawyer, I used to have pictures of judges staring – I don’t like it."
He said the pictures in his Downing Street flat are mostly of his children and his cats.
During the election campaign, Sir Keir said his children had been pushing to get a German Shepherd if they moved into Downing Street. However, earlier this week he revealed they had instead got a kitten.
Asked why he had U-turned on getting a dog, Sir Keir said it followed "a long summer of negotiations".
He said the new kitten was a Siberian with white fur and blue eyes, whom they had decided to call Prince.
The new pet joins the Starmer's other cat Jojo and Larry, the Chief Mouser at Downing Street since 2011.
From photobombing presidents to Westminster turf wars: Larry's most mischievous moments.
