BP accused of ‘insidious’ influence on UK education through Science Museum links
Campaigners have accused BP of having an insidious influence over the teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) in the UK through its relationship with the Science Museum.Documents obtained under freedom of information legislation show how the company funded a research project that led to the creation of the Science Museum Group academy – its teacher and educator training programme – which BP sponsors and which has run more than 500 courses, for more than 5,000 teachers.Campaigners say the documents reveal the extent of control the company had over the research project, called Enterprising Science.The contract setting out the collaboration states that major decisions would not be “validly passed … unless the representative of BP votes in its favour”.Chris Garrard of the campaign group Culture Unstained said: “BP’s toxic influence over young people’s learning is calculated and insidious.
“We wouldn’t allow tobacco companies to be involved in crafting approaches to education, so why should BP – a company shunning the scientific consensus on climate change by ramping up drilling for oil and gas – be able to buy such an influential and prominent role?”The Science Museum dismissed the claims, saying that although BP funded the Enterprising Science project and was sponsoring the academy, it had “no involvement in the research or educational output”.A spokesperson said: “The sponsorship we receive from a wide range of funders, including BP which supports the Science Museum Group academy, is vital to our mission to inspire millions of people every year.The Science Museum Group retains editorial control of all training and resources produced by the academy.”BP said in statement: “The project led to the creation of the Science Museum academy in 2018, which continues to inspire educators delivering engaging Stem experiences in and outside the classroom.”The Science Museum has faced repeated criticism over its ties to BP.
It was forced to defend them last year after the company announced it was abandoning its climate targets to focus on increasing fossil fuel production.Garrard said: “With young people refusing to lend their talents to fossil fuel producers and students barring them from their recruitment fairs, the industry is facing a recruitment crisis.So, whose side is the Science Museum really on when it backs BP?”The museum is facing a growing campaign, not just from climate groups, but also from schools and teachers’ unions, over its fossil fuel links.The National Education Union’s green representative, Helen Tucker, said more teachers were asking whether they could participate in the Science Museum academy “whose curriculum was developed with oversight from very people who are causing climate change – BP”.“As educators, it is our responsibility to resist the greenwashing and the image-laundering of those destroying our children’s futures.
We all have too much to lose.The NEU will continue to support the boycott of the Science Museum until this publicly funded institution learns how to train Stem educators without allowing fossil fuel producers to profit from it.”More than 400 teachers and scientists pledged to boycott the Science Museum in 2022.
Bank of England governor calls for fightback against populism; South East Water restores service to most Kent and Sussex homes – as it happened
Time to wrap up…The governor of the Bank of England has urged the world’s leading global institutions to fight back against the rise of populism, warning it represents one of the biggest threats to improvements in living standards.In a thinly veiled response to Donald Trump’s attempts to interfere with the independence of the US Federal Reserve, Andrew Bailey said that he and the heads of other institutions had a duty to “challenge back” populist narratives.“Part of the purpose of international agencies is that from time to time they have to tell us what we don’t want to hear, let alone act upon,” he said. “Of course, they have to be accountable for the accuracy and quality of the assessment. But, accepting that, we have to call out messenger shooting
Top two bosses at City & Guilds placed on leave after bonus scandal
The two most senior executives at City & Guilds have been put on leave shortly after a scandal over millions of pounds of bonuses triggered a Charity Commission investigation into the vocational training body.The chief executive, Kirstie Donnelly, and the chief financial officer, Abid Ismail, will be “absent from work for a short period”, as its new owner, PeopleCert, commissioned an internal investigation into events before and after its acquisition of City & Guilds’ training and qualifications business.Last week, the charity watchdog launched a statutory inquiry into last year’s sale of the qualification awards business to PeopleCert, an international certification company. The investigation will examine a range of problems, including “concerns raised in public reporting relating to the sale and bonuses awarded to its executives”.The inquiry was announced after the Guardian revealed last month that City & Guilds executives received million-pound bonuses after the charity privatised its business arm
Partly AI-generated folk-pop hit barred from Sweden’s official charts
A hit song has been excluded from Sweden’s official chart after it emerged the “artist” behind it was an AI creation.I Know, You’re Not Mine – or Jag Vet, Du Är Inte Min in Swedish – by a singer called Jacub has been a streaming success in Sweden, topping the Spotify rankings.However, the Swedish music trade body has excluded the song from the official chart after learning it was AI-generated.“Jacub’s track has been excluded from Sweden’s official chart, Sverigetopplistan, which is compiled by IFPI Sweden. While the song appears on Spotify’s own charts, it does not qualify for inclusion on the official chart under the current rules,” said an IFPI Sweden spokesperson
Prominent PR firm accused of commissioning favourable changes to Wikipedia pages
A high-profile PR company founded by Keir Starmer’s communications chief has been accused of commissioning changes to Wikipedia pages to make them more favourable towards clients.Portland Communications, founded by Tim Allan, has been linked to the so-called black hat edits, sometimes referred to as “Wikilaundering”. Several changes were made to Wikipedia pages by a network of editors, allegedly controlled by a contractor working on Portland’s behalf.According to an investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ), Portland outsourced Wikipedia editing relating to some of its high-profile clients, including the state of Qatar.TBIJ said it had evidence of alleged Wikipedia edits made on behalf of Portland between 2016 and 2024
Testing times for English cricket | Letters
Emma John’s perceptive analysis of cricket in Australia is spot-on (England ruthlessly privatised cricket – Australia embraces it with constant public displays of affection, 9 January). I have been visiting Australia for many years – our son and his family live in Sydney. The locals, on hearing my accent, mostly respond by saying “Sorry about the cricket, mate.” It’s not in a gloating or superior way, but in a genuine sense of puzzlement at how when we have often promised a real contest we perform like a malfunctioning firework.As Emma observes, in Australia cricket is a national obsession and accessible to all, either to watch or to play
Your Guardian sport weekend: Australian Open, NFL playoffs and the Afcon final
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