The Bank of England spent more than £85,000 on research to support its decision to drop historical British figures, including Sir Winston Churchill, Alan Turing and Jane Austen, from future banknotes in favour of wildlife designs. A Freedom of Information request revealed that consultants warned such figures could appear "elitist and divisive" and risk projecting a "backward-looking vision of the UK", a rationale that has triggered criticism from politicians, including Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who accused the Bank of "erasing our history".

Of the total spend, £63,000 went towards justifying the switch to a nature theme, with £49,000 paid to consultancy firm Savanta for focus groups and £22,500 spent on public consultations about which animals should feature. More than 400,000 votes were cast on a shortlist covering mammals, birds, and other wildlife such as the red fox, barn owl and Atlantic salmon, with governor Andrew Bailey due to confirm the final choice by the end of the year. The Bank has defended the move as a "positive evolution" rather than "censorship", noting the 2017 introduction of Jane Austen followed campaigns for greater representation, while current notes still feature Churchill, Austen, JMW Turner and Turing.