As more and more cultural institutions — including the British Museum — have removed the Sackler name from their spaces because of the family’s connection with OxyContin, which was blamed for fueling the opioid epidemic, the British Museum has made what is surely to be another controversial decision. After internal debate among its trustees, as reported in meeting minutes, the Museum has decided to accept a £50m sponsorship deal with BP to launch the Museum’s major upgrading and renovation master plan. Apparently the tremendous need to address the Museum’s deteriorated structure was ultimately determined to outweigh the ethical and security concerns surrounding acceptance of the BP gift.

The Museum is no stranger to controversy this year and is still reeling from the theft of more than 1500 Greek and Roman artifacts from its collection.