With ongoing scrutiny of oil companies’ funding links to major institutions such as the British Museum, campaign group Art Not Oil has published new information on what it describes as the “corrupting influence” of BP over national museums and galleries receiving its sponsorship in the UK.

The in-depth report, which draws upon hundreds of emails, documents and correspondence released through the Freedom of Information Act, revealed alleged interference in curatorial decision making and museum security from BP.

National institutions such as the British Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Tate and Science Museum have all been named in the report, which Art Not Oil says compromises “their stated values and independence in order to meet BP’s demands.”

BP has responded to Art Not Oil’s report, stating that the oil giant “never seeks curatorial influence” and provides “nothing more than funding” to its select institutions, though some of the documents included seemed to paint a different picture.

One email quoted in the report appeared to suggest the British Museum was seeking approval from BP over the acquisition for its Indigenous Australia exhibition, with the message saying: “We just wanted to make sure you had no objection to this.” The British Museum refuted these claims however, calling the email an “update for the funders.”

The report also called into question security procedures at sponsored institutions, with emails showing that senior staff from BP’s cultural partners attended a collaborative security meeting at BP’s offices on measures for addressing anti-oil protests, including the sharing of intelligence on protest groups and activities.

“Publicly-funded cultural institutions should not compromise their independence in any way on security matters – it is not their role to protect BP's reputation if BP's sponsorship does genuinely come with no strings attached,” said Chris Garrard, lead author of the report.

“The thought of BP using publicly-funded museums to curry favour with oppressive regimes and extract oil that we can’t afford to burn should appall anyone who cares about the cultural sector. In order to restore the public’s trust, these institutions must follow Tate’s lead and split with BP.”

To read the full report, click here.

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