Cambridge council orders removal of ‘poorest quality’ statue of Prince Philip

Cambridge city council issued an enforcement notice for the statue to be taken down, saying it had a ‘harmful material impact’ on the area. Photograph: Keith Heppell/Cambridge Independent/Bav Media

A faceless sculpture of Prince Philip, once described by a council planner as “possibly the poorest quality work” ever submitted, will be taken down years after it was erected without planning permission.

Standing outside a Cambridge office block, the 4-metre bronze statue depicted the late queen’s husband in academic robes with an abstract face resembling a twisted owl mask.