The University of Leicester has come under fire after a lecture slide reportedly compared Margaret Thatcher's leadership style to that of Adolf Hitler. The slide, shown to business students, also grouped Donald Trump with Osama Bin Laden and incel killer Elliot Rodger.
The 'leadership theory' class reportedly described Thatcher as having a 'dictated policies and procedures' approach, similar to Hitler and Vladimir Putin. Trump was labelled a 'terrorist leader' type alongside Bin Laden and Rodger.
A student told The Sun: 'No one understands why they are going out of their way to make these comparisons. We're not even doing a politics degree. It makes no sense to bring up Thatcher, Putin, or especially Hitler.'
Politics expert Alistair Jones said there is 'a lot of context missing' and that the comparison with Hitler is 'inappropriate'. He added: 'Thatcher was a dominant personality who expected her cabinet and MPs to 'toe her line'. This is not unusual in any leader of a major political party.'
A University of Leicester spokesperson said the slides were 'a snapshot of a lecture exploring leadership theory' and that 'at no point do these slides equate the leadership styles of Thatcher and Hitler or put forward any moral equivalence'. They added that future sessions will explore the ideas further.
