Commenting on the news that the British Museum has struck a new £50 million sponsorship deal with BP, Greenpeace UK’s policy director, Doug Parr, said: 

“The arts and culture world has been steadily cutting ties with Big Oil, after realising the handy role they play in cleaning up their climate-wrecking image. Yet, BP have wormed their way back into the British Museum with what must surely be one of the biggest, most brazen greenwashing sponsorship deals the sector has ever seen.

“The climate is teetering on the edge of collapse and, like most of the exhibits on display, BP’s relationship with the British Museum needs consigning to the history books.

“No cultural establishment that has a responsibility to educate and inform should be allowing fossil fuel companies to pay them to clean their image, not least the British Museum who have been here before. Did they learn nothing?”