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  "path": "/money/bank-of-england-winston-churchill-banknotes",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-05T20:47:20.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Economy alert: Paramount-Warner Bros deal in jeopardy as US states prep lawsuit",
    "Major British airline crashes into administration as 178 staff lose jobs",
    "Inheritance reforms to save 3.5 million couples from 'financial hardship'",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nThe Bank of England decided to remove Winston Churchill, Alan Turing and Jane Austen from British banknotes after commissioned research concluded these historical figures were \"elitist and divisive,\" newly obtained documents reveal.\n\nA market research study conducted by Savanta in October 2025 advised central bank officials that such portraits presented \"a backward-looking vision of the UK that carries too great a risk of division and controversy\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nResearchers determined that figures including the wartime prime minister, the celebrated codebreaker and the renowned novelist were \"contentious and not representative of the UK's cultural and natural diversity\".\n\nThe Savanta study, which gathered views from 119 focus group participants, found that most felt depicting historical figures on currency was \"potentially divisive, elitist and disconnected from their own experiences\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nYounger participants particularly questioned whether current banknote subjects remained relevant, with researchers noting \"a clear desire for banknote imagery to evolve and better reflect modern Britain by being more inclusive\".\n\nOne focus group member described Alan Turing, the Second World War codebreaker and mathematician, as \"imperialistic\", The Telegraph reports,\n\nThe participant stated: \"It does kind of still feel a little bit imperialistic ... Even Alan Turing, who was obviously a famous scientist, is within the context of winning the Second World War.\n\n\"It does feel like there is that kind of boomer, imperialistic, 'we're the ones who won the Second World War and saved the world' feeling to the [bank]notes.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Economy alert: Paramount-Warner Bros deal in jeopardy as US states prep lawsuit\n  * Major British airline crashes into administration as 178 staff lose jobs\n  * Inheritance reforms to save 3.5 million couples from 'financial hardship'\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe Bank has publicly justified the change as a security measure, with Governor Andrew Bailey writing in The Telegraph this week: \"The Bank's foremost objective is the security of our banknotes, which includes tackling the threat from counterfeiting.\"\n\nOfficials maintain that fraudsters are becoming increasingly skilled at replicating human faces, necessitating the shift to wildlife imagery.\n\nThe central bank also points to a public consultation conducted last year, in which 60 per cent of 44,000 respondents selected nature as their preferred theme for future notes—ranking it above architecture, landmarks, and historical figures.\n\nRobert Jenrick, Reform UK's Treasury spokesman, demanded the central bank \"should stop wasting time and money on this\" and concentrate on controlling inflation instead.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nMr Jenrick said: \"If it wasn't for the likes of Churchill and Turing, we'd be living under a Government that really was divisive and imperialistic. It's not too late to cancel this nonsense.\"\n\nColonel Richard Kemp, a retired British Army officer, offered a stark warning: \"Without great and courageous figures like Churchill and Turing, we may have swastikas on our banknotes today. We owe them so much, and it is right that we should be reminded of our debt to them daily on our banknotes.\"\n\nHe described the decision as \"shameful\" and called for it to be reversed, accusing the Bank of succumbing to \"the woke desire to erase Britain's proud and remarkable culture\".\n\nThe Bank of England first introduced historical figures on sterling notes more than half a century ago, when William Shakespeare appeared on the £20 note in 1970.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Bank of England axed 'elitist' Winston Churchill from banknotes after being told he was 'divisive'"
}