World

UK PM's Portrait on Oxford University Wall Provokes Controversy

Protests from university students come in the aftermath of the Windrush scandal which saw thousands of British residents threatened with deportation.
Sputnik

Oxford University, one of the world's most prestigious and the alma mater of Theresa May has removed a portrait of the British Prime Minister from a wall displaying the institution's notable alumni.

The picture of Mrs. May, who studied geography at Saint Hugh's College was taken down after protests from a student group calling itself "Not All Geographers" which took issue with the Prime Minister's immigration policies, in particular, the "hostile environment" policy enacted by Mrs. May while she was the Home Secretary.

While the student group has its supporters online, the move has also elicited significant criticism, with accusations of the activists selectively targeting the Prime Minister and taking the University to task for giving in to the students' demands.

​In recent years, student activism around the world has become more vocal in relation to removing statues and portraits from university spaces of figures who had an objectionable influence, such as Confederate Generals in the Southern United States and British statesman Cecil Rhodes in South Africa. 

The Windrush Scandal involved British resident and their children and grandchildren who immigrated to Britain from Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean, East Africa and India in the 1970s and who found themselves threatened with deportation by the policies introduced by then Home Secretary May to make it as difficult as possible for illegal immigrants to remain in the UK.

Discuss