Plan for ball with red, white and blue theme sparks British Museum row

A row has broken out within the British Museum over its director’s suggestion of a red, white and blue-themed ball, after staff condemned it as being “in poor taste” given the rise in flag-hoisting across the UK.

- Daniel Boffey

Nicholas Cullinan, the director of the 272-year-old museum, has proposed a colour theme based on the union jack and French tricolore to mark next year’s loan of the Bayeux tapestry from Normandy.

It has led to concerns being raised by staff within the museum’s curatorial and administrative departments, the Guardian understands.

Some of the staff are said to argue that the idea is “in poor taste due to the current far-right flag campaigns around the country,” a source said.

Since the summer, union jacks and other flags of the four nations of the UK have been flown from windows, bridges and lampposts in what has been described by some as a celebration of Britishness.

But concerns have been raised about the motivation of some of those involved. One group behind the hoisting of flags, Operation Raise the Colours, accepted a donation from Britain First, a far-right party with an anti-Islam, anti-immigration agenda.

The British Museum hosted a successful inaugural fundraising ball in October with a pink theme, a nod to the museum’s exhibition on ancient India, that was attended by 8,000 people, with tickets costing £2,000.