Emails show Osborne helped secure British Museum’s £5m sponsorship

British Museum chair George Osborne helped arrange a sponsorship from billionaire Igor Tulchinsky, according to internal emails.

Tulchinsky, who founded investment firm WorldQuant, is the reported £5m sponsor of the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition.

The emails show Osborne introduced Tulchinsky to the museum and approved talks after receiving a due diligence report, but parts of that report are redacted.

Accounts differ on what the checks said: one says they flagged potential concerns, while another says they raised “no concerns.”

Tulchinsky has been criticised over reported support for a community project in Efrat, an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, which is considered illegal under international law; Israel disputes that position.

The museum’s trustees are responsible for accepting donations, and campaign group Culture Unstained says the museum should review its approach to sponsorship; no change has been announced.