London's Victoria and Albert Museum has been slammed after naming Margaret Thatcher as a "contemporary villain" alongside Adolf Hitler and Osama Bin Laden in an exhibition on British humour.
The exhibit, which displays a range of satirical Punch and Judy puppets, charts the traditional seaside show's history in the "Laughing Matters: The State of a Nation" display - but Thatcher's inclusion next to historical villains was met with scorn.
Under the puppet of the former Prime Minister is the caption: "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."
And the museum, headed by ex-Labour MP Tristram Hunt, has faced calls to have its public funding rescinded as the furore over the exhibit grows.
Ex-Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: "Given the fact that MPs are now regularly receiving death threats, myself included, from extremists and others, this V&A exhibition is ill-thought and mendacious.
"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 sort of idiocy begs the question about funding - It would be a good idea if those who thought of this did a hard day's work in among the rest of us, rather than sitting on their lofty perch producing stupid ideas."
While political commentator Russell Quirk told GB News: "Thatcher was the mother of entrepreneurship. How anyone can say she was a villain? She was one of political history's heroes.
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"She stood up against the militant unions to make sure they didn't destroy the economy and social fabric of Britain. She should be applauded rather than labelled a villain. She gave ordinary people access to wealth, aspiration and success, and for that she should be heralded a hero."
And former Thatcher aide Nile Gardiner said: "Disgraceful from the Victoria and Albert Museum. It should be stripped of public funding."
