The British Museum closed its doors to visitors on Sunday afternoon as hundreds of protesters gathered outside to demand that it end its partnership with BP – and sought to draw a link with the conflict in Gaza.
A new UK-based protest group, calling itself Energy Embargo for Palestine, called on members of the public to boycott the museum while it continues to receive sponsorship from the company.
In a statement published on the leftwing website Jacobin, the protesters pointed to offshore gas exploration licences granted to companies – including BP – by Israel, since the start of the war on Gaza.
A banner held up outside the museum’s entrance said: “Sponsored by BP = sponsored by colonial genocide.”
Sources at the British Museum confirmed on Sunday that the institution had closed its main entrances on the advice of the Metropolitan police, adding that visitors who had arrived before 3pm were able to remain inside.
The source added that the museum was working to allow people who had booked tickets for exhibitions for later time-slots to swap these to another day.
The British Museum, which is chaired by the former the Tory chancellor George Osborne, signed a new £50m, 10-year partnership with BP last year.
The deal is intended to fund an ambitious redevelopment of its Bloomsbury building but prompted furious criticism from climate campaigners, who have long called for it to sever its links with fossil fuels.
Sunday’s gathering appeared to mark a fresh front in the criticism of the museum, however, as it brought together campaigners against the climate emergency and protesters against Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
A spokesperson for the museum said: “The British Museum respects other people’s right to express their views and allows peaceful protest on site at the museum as long as there is no risk to the collection, staff or visitors.”
At the time the new sponsorship deal was announced, Louise Kingham, BP’s senior vice-president for Europe, said: “As a business that has made Britain its home for over a century, we are proud to be a long-term partner to this important British institution and play our part in its future transformation – while helping to ensure that this iconic cultural venue remains freely accessible to all.”