Government rebuffs calls for Bletchley Park funding

 

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By Nicole Kobie

Posted on 20 May 2009 at 15:41

The Government has rebuffed calls for further Bletchley Park funding, claiming the site has received enough already.

Last year, the home to Britain's war-time code breaking efforts claimed it was "in a desperate state of decay" and put out an appeal for funds. That appeal was met with £930,000 worth of funding from English Heritage and Milton Keynes Council, allowing it to proceed with much-needed repairs.

However, Labour peer Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall has now petitioned the Government for further funding in the House of Lords: "The fundraising effort is going pretty well, as is work to improve both the buildings and museum facilities," she said.

"Visitor numbers are rising very rapidly and it will be self-sufficient once capital building work is completed. They are suffering considerable difficulty in continuing in the interim. Could he [Lord Davies] encourage his friends at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to reconsider their willingness to support this project?" she asked.

Deputy chief whip Lord Davies rejected her claim, arguing that the existing grants were enough. He also shrugged off suggestions the site should be given the same status as national museums, such as the Imperial War Museum.

This was despite Davies agreeing with other peers, who said that the site "was of vital importance to what happened during the war and was the foundation of the entire computer industry in this country."