How very childish! Man, 59, who boasted about throwing eggs at Margaret Thatcher statue is condemned by his mother-in-law
- Jeremy Webster, 59, was pictured hurling eggs at the late prime minister’s statue
- The statue of Baroness Thatcher in Grantham had been put up only hours before
- Now Webster’s mother-in-law Yvonne Barnes, 87, said the chucking was ‘childish’
- Mrs Barnes said: ‘[Thatcher] was a trailblazer […] and she had such energy’
The mother-in-law of the man who boasted about throwing eggs at a statue of Baroness Thatcher yesterday condemned his ‘childish’ stunt.
Jeremy Webster, 59, was pictured hurling eggs at the statue in the late prime minister’s home town of Grantham within a few hours of its unveiling on Sunday.
The University of Leicester, understood to employ Mr Webster as deputy director of its Attenborough Arts Centre, yesterday said it ‘takes any act of defacement extremely seriously’ and would address the matter.
Jeremy Webster, 59, was pictured chucking eggs at the statue in the ‘childish’ stunt on Sunday
Yesterday Yvonne Barnes – an admirer of Baroness Thatcher – told of her shock at her son-in-law’s alleged actions.
Mrs Barnes, 87, said: ‘Margaret Thatcher lasted a long time in power. She was a trailblazer as the first woman prime minister and she had such energy, even though I know she slept very little.
‘I’m very surprised to hear about all of this (egg throwing). I’m going to have to call my daughter. I wouldn’t have thought Jeremy would be the sort of person to do this. It seems very childish to me – he has a responsible job.’
The new statue in Grantom, Lincolnshire was unveiled just hours before being targeted
Mr Webster is secretary of wife Denise Barnes’ Lincoln-based arts business, while his LinkedIn profile lists him as deputy director of the Arts Council-funded arts centre at the University of Leicester.
Kerry Law, of the University of Leicester, said: ‘The university has a long-standing history of supporting art, fostering creativity and protecting creative freedom.
‘It does not condone any form of defacement and takes any act of defacement extremely seriously. This matter will be addressed in line with the university’s own procedures.’
An Arts Council spokesman said yesterday: ‘Acts of alleged criminal damage are a matter for the police to investigate.’
Lincolnshire police received a report of criminal damage but said yesterday afternoon that nobody had yet been arrested or spoken to in connection with the incident.
Yesterday there was no sign of Mr Webster and his wife at their £400,000 town house on the Grantham street where Baroness Thatcher was born.
On Sunday, Mr Webster had tweeted: ‘Grantham unveils Thatcher statue, so guess where we are going?’ He later bragged on Instagram about getting ‘the first hit with an egg’.
Mrs Thatcher (pictured in 1983) was Britain’s first female leader, holding the post eleven years
A video of the incident showed that he threw three eggs, missing with two but striking the monument – which stands on a 10ft granite plinth installed in an attempt to deter vandals – with one of the missiles.
Mrs Barnes, who lives in Axminster, Devon, with husband Keith, 83, did not realise Mr Webster was the man who targeted the statue until contacted by the Mail.
She added: ‘Nobody likes people at the top of government. It’s the way it goes, but I didn’t realise Jeremy had a strong dislike of Mrs Thatcher. We don’t see much of them (Mr Webster and his wife) because of the geographical distance between us.’ Yesterday the statue, which had been unveiled without ceremony, remained behind temporary security fencing on a green outside Grantham Museum. The venue houses an exhibition dedicated to the town’s most famous daughter.
A JD Wetherspoon pub also stands close by, while the statue – which has two security cameras trained on it – overlooks a mobility scooter shop, a restaurant, a bank and a slot machine arcade.
A stream of passers-by stopped to take pictures of the monument, or have their picture taken in front of it. The £300,000 statue was funded by the Public Memorials Appeal through donations, and was originally due to be sited in Parliament Square. It was moved to Grantham due to concern around a ‘motivated far-Left movement… who may be committed to public activism’.
South Kestevan District Council will host an official unveiling ceremony at a later date.