The Observer have revealed that classicist Professor Dame Mary Beard was rejected as a trustee of the British Museum by Downing Street due to her pro-European views.
No. 10’s decision marks the first in a number of years that has not supported the museum’s proposed list of candidates.
According to Whitehall sources, Beard was rejected due to her pro-Remain views which she frequently voices on social media platforms.
It is believed that the decision to reject Beard took place at the end of Theresa May’s tenure as prime minister, when three other candidates were proposed.
At present, Downing Street have absolute power over the selection of 80 per cent of the museum’s 25 trustees. However, the museum maintains its right to select the remaining five.
The decision to reject Beard on grounds of her pro-European sentiments contradicts Grayson Perry’s, who is anti-Brexit and pro-Labour, position on the board.
A former board member who chose to remain anonymous said that the government’s “decision to reject her is more about political correctness than respected classical scholarship.”
In 2018 Beard worked in the museum for a day as a visitor attendant in the museum, saying that she had fulfilled “a lifetime’s ambition”.
When asked why she had been rejected, Beard said “There are cock-ups and conspiracies. I’m not, however, going to diss Boris Johnson or the Department of Culture.”
While the government provides the museum with £40 million of funding each year, the selection of directors, general running and exhibitions all fall under the jurisdiction of the museum’s overall board.
The museum has announced that Beard will be appointed regardless of Downing Street’s objections.
