Winston Churchill note dropped by Bank of England after being told he was 'elitist'

Winston Churchill note dropped by Bank of England after being told he was 'elitist'The Bank of England spent public money asking consultants who should appear on the nation's bank notes. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Add us as preferred source Comments By Richard Ashmore, Senior News Reporter 21:30, Fri, Jun 5, 2026 Updated: 21:40, Fri, Jun 5, 2026 Wartime hero Sir Winston Churchill could be replaced by an image of an animal (Image: Getty)Wartime hero Sir Winston Churchill was erased from our nation's currency after the Bank of England was told he was "elitist and divisive", it is claimed. window.scriptsToLoad.push({url:'https://live.primis.tech/live/liveView.php?s=118222&vp_content=plembed3a6btjknzwqh&cbuster=%%CACHEBUSTER%%&playerApiId=v118222',triggeredBy:'tcfLoaded',delay:1500,containerId:'ovp-primis',title:"Primis player",beforeLoad:()=>{window.top.addEventListener('primisPlayerInit',e=>{try{if(e.detail&&e.detail.playerApiId==="v118222"){if(window.document.getElementsByClassName('jwplayer')[0]){e.detail.float('disable')}}}catch(e){}})},}) The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, a once common nickname for the bank, announced it was phasing out historic titans such as Churchill, Alan Turing and Jane Austen in favour of wildlife because to keep ahead of fraudsters getting better at replicating faces. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Get the day's biggest headlines in UK and World news and more Subscribe Invalid emailWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy PolicyAnd the Governor of the Bank of England wrote in the Telegraph this week: "The Bank’s foremost objective is the security of our banknotes, which includes tackling the threat from counterfeiting.”But a Freedom of Information request by the T...