Downing Street 'blocks' appointment of Mary Beard as British Museum trustee due to 'pro-European views'

[editor]

Luckily the museum told Downing Street to do one and is appointing her anyway, but it's another worrying precedent being set by the Tories

Britain’s best-known classicist Mary Beard is pretty much a national treasure. So you’d think she’d be easily accepted onto the board of the country’s most prestigious historical institution, right?
Well, in normal times, you’d be correct. But sadly we’re in 2020 and everything is awful. The Observer reports that Beard was rejected by Downing Street as a trustee of the British Museum. Whitehall sources said the decision last year to turn her down had been made because of her pro-European views, which she isn’t at all shy about on social media.
In response to the bizarre snub, the museum is reportedly planning to appoint Beard anyway, seeing as its constitution allows it to choose five out of its 25 trustees for itself, without any approval from Downing Street.

Downing Street 'blocks' appointment of Mary Beard as British Museum trustee due to 'pro-European views'

Britain’s best-known classicist Mary Beard is pretty much a national treasure. So you’d think she’d be easily accepted onto the board of the country’s most prestigious historical institution, right?

www.indy100.com

 

[dessiato]

The direction in which the UK is moving continues to shock me. I'm more and more reminded of the stories my German Jewish relatives used to tell.

It's very disturbing.

 

[Pickman's model]

The direction in which the UK is moving continues to shock me. I'm more and more reminded of the stories my German Jewish relatives used to tell.

It's very disturbing.

Tbh the direction this country's been moving in has been clear for at least 20 years

 

[tim]

The government starting to chose which members of the establishment gets to go on the Quango that parties at the Museum of Stolen Foreign Stuff.

 

[Shechemite]

The government starting to chose which members of the establishment gets to go on the Quango that parties at the Museum of Stolen Foreign Stuff.

it’s 1933 all over again

 

[littlebabyjesus]

The government starting to chose which members of the establishment gets to go on the Quango that parties at the Museum of Stolen Foreign Stuff.

It's rather ironically named really, isn't it. Must confuse tourists. Where's Britain?

 

[Artaxerxes]

It's rather ironically named really, isn't it. Must confuse tourists. Where's Britain?

2nd floor, mostly galleries 40-50

 

[littlebabyjesus]

2nd floor, mostly galleries 40-50

Unlike Persia, which gets prime ground level stuff and upstairs stuff

 

[Shechemite]

Unlike Persia, which gets prime ground level stuff and upstairs stuff

ffs it’s all going to kick off when Cummings hears about this

 

[StoneRoad]

In a way it is despicable that some much was taken away from the places abroad, but in some cases the items would have been lost forever if they had been left were they where.
Either from pollution eg Elgin Marbles or wanton vandalism eg some items from the area now mostly known as Iraq (looking at Daesh and Taliban here).
It is a difficult problem to overcome and it is not just historical artefacts, this also applies to the natural environment, including the wildlife.

 

[SpookyFrank]

In a way it is despicable that some much was taken away from the places abroad, but in some cases the items would have been lost forever if they had been left were they where.
Either from pollution eg Elgin Marbles or wanton vandalism eg some items from the area now mostly known as Iraq (looking at Daesh and Taliban here).
It is a difficult problem to overcome and it is not just historical artefacts, this also applies to the natural environment, including the wildlife.

Possible those places might have been less fucked up without all the colonialism.

 

[JimW]

Fuck all those foreign elites and their whinging about the current location of what are mostly artefacts of former elites. They only want them home so they can continue the fiction of some sort of historical continuity with cultures they have no more right to the legacy of than you, me or Mary beard anyway. Nationalist fictions.
/the 20p argument

 

[Pickman's model]

Possible those places might have been less fucked up without all the colonialism.

it's possible this place might have been less fucked up without the colonialism too

 

[Sprocket.]

it’s 1933 all over again

‘Helped into power’

 

[SpookyFrank]

it's possible this place might have been less fucked up without the colonialism too

We're the real victims here.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

She should stick to judging cakes and shit.

 

[Pickman's model]

We're the real victims here.

no one is innocent

 

[Artaxerxes]

Unlike Persia, which gets prime ground level stuff and upstairs stuff

Those statues are heavy as fuck.

 

[Shechemite]

She should stick to judging cakes and shit.

Priti Patel? Fair dos, it’s about time GBBO had some Gordon Ramsey energy

 

[tim]

She should stick to judging cakes and shit.

Good British cakes like Sacher Tort and Mille Feuilles.

 

[agricola]

I just feel sorry for Tristram Hunt - imagine as a Labour person being seen as vastly less of a threat to the Tory Party than Mary Beard is.

 

[William of Walworth]

I just feel sorry for Tristram Hunt -

You mean the current Victoria and Albert Museum director?
Who doesn't right now miss representing Stoke-on-Trent in Parliament all that much?

 

[belboid]

I just feel sorry for Tristram Hunt - imagine as a Labour person being seen as vastly less of a threat to the Tory Party than Mary Beard is.

He served them a purpose tho, did his lil bit to get them into government

 

[Elpenor]

Oh the irony; sacked from the British museum for stealing exhibits (from a store room!)

British Museum worker sacked over missing treasures

The museum dismisses a member of staff and police are investigating after items go missing.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[A380]

Yeah,

Oh the irony; sacked from the British museum for stealing exhibits (from a store room!)

British Museum worker sacked over missing treasures

The museum dismisses a member of staff and police are investigating after items go missing.

www.bbc.co.uk

TBF when I played with marbles as a kid we always did keepsies…