NMeM tight-lipped over funding

[Michael Pritchard]

Amateur Photographer magazine reports that election rules mean that the National Media Museum is barred from saying whether it fears government cutbacks may scupper its plan to open a base in London.

The NMM, which is Britain's flagship photography museum, has yet to confirm whether it has been granted government funding for the project which is expected to see the creation of 1500m2 of exhibition galleries at a location in the capital yet to be named.

In the run up to the election it is not yet clear where precisely an incoming government will cut spending in order to tackle the huge budget deficit.

Asked whether any government cuts would delay or curtail the project altogether, a spokesman for the Bradford-based museum remained tight-lipped, telling us that it is bound by strict guidelines issued by the Cabinet Office during the election period.

He told Amateur Photographer: 'This means we cannot comment on anything that could be interpreted as making a political statement or relates to governance and financially related issues until after the election.'

See the full report here