Wildlife on banknotes

I'm delighted to announce that the Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, has agreed to answer your questions on the new designs for our banknotes. Thanks to everyone who submitted a question yesterday via the usual portal. Governor: Thank you for inviting me. As you may know we've just produced a shortlist of the animals that could become the central image on the £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes and are inviting the public to have their say. Angry Nige: Why are you replacing Winston Churchill with a beaver? Governor: We have no intention of replacing Winston Churchill with a beaver. A beaver isn't even on the shortlist. Angry Nige: Why are you replacing Winston Churchill with some other poncy animal then? No pine marten or hedgehog ever stepped up and defeated the Germans. Why not a Chieftain tank? Governor: We launched a consultation in July 2025 for a new banknote theme and a majority of the public chose wildlife. Destructive weaponry was not one of the six options. Angry Nige:…