V&A grovels after branding Thatcher villain alongside Hitler | UK | News | EUROtoday

The V&A has plunged right into a political row this week after the museum labelled Margaret Thatcher a “contemporary villain” and “unpopular public figure”.

The in style London museum, which showcases collections of artwork, design and efficiency, had positioned Britain’s first feminine prime minister alongside Adolf Hitler and Osama Bin Laden in a show.

The comparability sparked outrage, with former Conservative Party chief Sir Iain Duncan Smith questioning whether or not the museum ought to be capable to entry thousands and thousands in public funding.

The controversial comparability was a part of the continued ‘Laughing Matters: The State of a Nation’ show on the V&A.

The free show examines the “role of humour in debates around identity, empire and power over the past two hundred years”.

One of the instances featured a puppet of Baroness Thatcher from the satirical tv present Spitting Image.

The Tory chief, who died in 2013, was repeatedly lampooned on the comedy present throughout her Nineteen Eighties rule.

The unique caption learn: “Over the years, the evil character in this seaside puppet show has shifted from the Devil to unpopular public figures including Adolf Hitler, Margaret Thatcher and Osama bin Laden, to offer contemporary villains.”

Culture secretary Lucy Frazer weighed into the row and blasted the V&A for its “inappropriate” wording.

Sir Iain added: “They must live in a bubble, away from the real world to think that it is rational to propose that a politician of the stature of Margaret Thatcher would equate to any of those mass murderers and vile human beings.

“This form of idiocy begs the query about authorities funding.”

Others pointed out that the director of the museum is former Labour MP Tristram Hunt.

The V&A quickly backtracked under pressure and admitted its original wording was “open to misinterpretation”.

The new display caption reads: “The characters have since been re-cast to replicate figures within the public eye – from Adolf Hitler throughout wartime to Margaret Thatcher within the Nineteen Eighties being portrayed as villains, to extra lately Nick Clegg because the clown and Simon Cowell because the decide.”

A museum spokesperson added: “We have reviewed the label textual content which pertains to public figures who, in current historical past, have been characterised as villains in Punch and Judy reveals.

“We do appreciate that the original wording was open to misinterpretation and have updated it.”