For many, Simon de Montfort is an icon, rightly celebrated in our street names, buildings and monuments.

To others, he is an anti-Semite, who should be remembered for his order to expel Jewish people from Leicester.

The debate has now erupted into a row about whether a statue of the medieval powerbroker should be kept on show by Leicestershire County Council.

A member of staff has written asking councillors to justify having a work of art depicting him in the main foyer of the council offices, in Glenfield.

The statue that greets visitors was commissioned in the 1960s and was made because de Montfort is an important figure in the history of Leicester and England.

The former Earl of Leicester is credited with calling England's first directly elected parliament, and as a father of British democracy.

However, the member of staff, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "Could we not have a more appropriate figure adorning the foyer of County Hall than Simon de Montfort?

"Despite his obvious achievements in other fields, this man was a noted anti-Semite who rid the city of Leicester of its Jewish community.

"Is this really someone who should be represented here?

"Is this really a welcoming image to any Jewish visitor or member of staff at Leicestershire County Council?"

De Montfort's influence is reflected in numerous buildings throughout the city, not least in the name of Leicester's main concert hall and a university.

However, he is also remembered for an edict of 1231 which banished Jews from the city – some 20 years before a general expulsion across the country.

As a result of his actions, there was no Jewish community in the city until the middle of the 19th century.

De Montfort's charter asked landlords to turn away Jewish people, and said: "No Jew or Jewess in my time, or in the time of any of my heirs to the end of the world, shall inhabit or remain or obtain a residence in Leicester."

A spokeswoman for the county council said the earl's life was tied to Leicestershire's history, even though some of his behaviour was seen as unacceptable now.

She said the statue would be staying.

She said: "I do not suppose that he is unique in the context of historical figures with flawed personalities whose personal conduct and attitudes would not be tolerated by today's society.

"The arms of the county of Leicestershire incorporate the arms of three former Earls of Leicester, including Simon de Montfort and his white lion."

She said the statue was as much a tribute to its sculptor, Sean Compton, who was given the Military Cross for bravery in the Second World War, after he took the blast of a mine to save his comrades.

In 2001, a group of Christian campaigners called on the city council to renounce the charter issued by de Montfort in 1231.

There were also protests against the fact that he was depicted on the city's Clock Tower.

University of Leicester historian Professor Aubrey Newman said: "He was a bad man but that was not at all uncommon in the 13th century.

"I think it would be a nonsense to get rid of the statue at County Hall."