Britain has gone statue-mad and not everyone, it seems, likes them. Figures from the art world are complaining about sentimental, poorly executed memorials being erected to celebrate the lives of the great and the good.

Last week a statue to Mahatma Gandhi, the revered Indian leader, was unveiled in Leicester. A charity offered it to the city in recognition of its multicultural society, said to symbolise his philosophy. In Cardiff Bay, a statue was unveiled of Ivor Novello, one of Cardiff’s most celebrated musical sons.