RICHARD Madeley has slammed “stupid and thick” Oxford University students who voted to remove a portrait of the Queen from their common room.
The presenter waved a ten pound note at viewers on Good Morning Britain today and fumed: “Would you rip this up?”
Outrage over Her Majesty being cancelled by one of the colleges of Oxford University has erupted on Twitter after students at Magdalen College (pronounced maudlin) refused to keep the portrait, saying she “represents recent colonial history”.
Taking the issue to GMB viewers shortly after 6.30am today, Richard, 65, said: “You won’t be watching if you’re at Magdalen College, you won’t be awake until 9, maybe 10 O’clock.
“Would you rip this up? It’s got a picture of the Queen on it. There’s a bit of colonial culture there. So would you stop using cash? I can’t help but think this is a wind-up. It’s so stupid it’s actually thick.
“Have they not heard of the Commonwealth? Do they not know what the Commonwealth is?
“The Commonwealth which the Queen has presided over and it’s one of the jewels in her crown, as it were, was actually the exit from colonialism.
“As I said I thought these guys were supposed to be some of the brightest in the land.”
Members of the college’s committee bizarrely concluded that the portrait will now be replaced by “art by or of other influential and inspirational people.”
But the woke Oxford students who voted to remove a portrait of the Queen from their college common room have been called “obnoxious” and “ignorant” by critics.
Now the Secretary of State for Education has given his opinion on the controversial move.
Williamson said: “Oxford University students removing a picture of the Queen is simply absurd.
“She is the Head of State and a symbol of what is best about the United Kingdom.
“She has worked to promote British values of tolerance, inclusivity & respect”
During the vote to remove the picture one student commented that “patriotism and colonialism are not really separable” .
While another added that the picture of Her Royal Highness must be ditched because “This is about our communal space and making people feel welcome”, according to Guido Fawkes.
And in the future if any pictures of the Queen or the Royal family are to be hung in the common it must be decided by a vote.
The decision has caused uproar among the university’s royalists who believe cancel culture has taken a step too far.
According to the committee’s minutes, one opponent in the vote said: “In an era where debates on no-platforming and cancel culture rage strong, effectively ‘cancelling’ the Queen and brandishing her as a symbol of colonialism – so often used as a synonym for racism – sends a dire message that is sure to enrage.
“Moreover, it is culturally insensitive for a common room so heavily comprised of international students to seek to remove a national symbol from a British institution.
“The cultural heritage of all nations has the right to be respected, and a common room that does not do so cannot claim to be inclusive.”
