Oliver Dowden writes to a number of national museums and galleries as well as the Arm’s Length Bodies – organisations that administer public cultural funds including Arts Council England, Historic England, the Charity Commission, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund – to state that the Government ‘does not support the removal of statues or other similar objects’, despite any controversy that may surround them. He writes that ‘as publicly funded bodies, you should not be taking actions motivated by activism or politics’; he also says, ‘I would expect Arm’s Length Bodies’ approach to issues of contested heritage to be consistent with the Government’s position’.

Dowden continues that ‘rather than erasing these objects, we should seek to contextualise or reinterpret them’ for the benefit of the public, and threatens to withdraw funding if this line isn’t adhered to.