A Cambridge lecturer has surprised colleagues by turning up to a departmental meeting naked.

Dr Victoria Bateman, economics Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, turned up to the meeting, held the day before the referendum on British membership of the EU, with the slogan “Brexit leaves Britain naked” daubed across her breasts.

Despite Bateman's state of undress the two hour meeting was completed without disruption, and a spokesperson for the university has confirmed that no complaints were made.

A source present at the meeting said: “this was a standard meeting about the teaching of economics and we moved away from her state of dress. We remained silent on that issue and managed to get through the agenda in the meeting.” 

Bateman has been a longstanding critic of Brexit, having predicted in the past that low-income houses would receive between £1,861 and £5,542 less a year, depending on personal circumstances.

This is not the first time that Dr Bateman's public nudity has hit headlines. In 2014, Anthony Connelly painted the professor nude, a portrait which was later displayed in a London gallery.

Speaking at the time, Bateman encouraged “people to see that behind the naked body is a real, intelligent, thinking being”. As of Friday, Bateman was unavailable for comment.