British Museum justification for Israel embassy event under scrutiny after FOI response

Revelations from a Freedom of Information (FOI) request have raised questions around the British Museum’s claim that it had no say in a decision to host an event for the Israeli embassy, as it “cannot undermine” UK foreign policy.

On 13 May, the museum hosted an event organised by the Israeli embassy celebrating the anniversary of Israel's 77th Independence Day.

Amid mounting anger from staff, who previously told Middle East Eye that they had been kept in the dark about the event, the museum issued statements insisting that, as an arms-length body, it cannot “deviate from or undermine the UK government's foreign policy”.

But a response to an FOI request asking for documentation evidencing this requirement reveals that the museum does not hold any legal advice or policy documents to support the claim, indicating that it did have a choice about whether or not to host the event.

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