National Trust chairman says the charity must 'move with the times'

National Trust chairman says the charity must ‘move with the times’ and is considering the return of artefacts amid accusations the organisation has a ‘woke agenda’

  • Rene Olivieri said move to embrace more views may leave some ‘uncomfortable’
  • It comes amid accusations the National Trust charity now has a ‘woke agenda’

The chair of the National Trust has said it needs to move with the times to survive, with plans underway to create a policy on restitution. 

Rene Olivieri, who took over as chairman in February 2022, said the decision to ’embrace a wider range of viewpoints’ may leave some ‘uncomfortable’. 

His comments come amid ongoing accusations that the British charity has a ‘woke agenda’ following a controversial report which linked a number of its properties to colonialism and slavery. 

‘Every field is evolving. Every truth is shifting,’ he told an audience at Hay Festival yesterday. 

‘Scientists are used to this all the time. They live with that but carry on. Perhaps we’re going through a paradigm shift here, just making people feel uncomfortable.

Rene Olivieri (pictured), who took over as chairman in February 2022, said the decision to ’embrace a wider range of viewpoints’ may leave some ‘uncomfortable’

READ MORE: National Trust cannot let ‘new views’ of history eclipse previous perspectives, new Chairman says amid ongoing row over charity’s ‘woke agenda’

‘So, what do we do about that? The fact that some people are feeling uncomfortable, do we just accept that that’s part of the journey we’re going to have to make as a society, this move to embrace a wider range of viewpoints, or is there a certain way of engaging with people who say “no, that’s not the history I learned at school, I don’t know why you’re dumping on some important person that I really admire and loved in the past”? What can we do to kind of keep that conversation going?’ 

Olivieri revealed that the Trust is currently working on a policy about restitution after one audience member asked if Powis Castle in Wales would be a ‘lesser experience’ if a reparation exercise was carried out on items from South and East Asia. 

The Clive Museum at the castle houses more than 1000 items from the continent including ‘ivories, textiles, statues of Hindu gods, ornamental silver and gold, weapons and ceremonial armour’, according to the Trust’s website. 

Olivieri said: ‘I think that the idea of restitution which is now very much in the news. We are in the process of creating our own policy in the National Trust, we will be following the advice that’s been given to all organisations like us by the Museums Association, by the Arts Council. 

‘I understand these are huge issues. Provenance needs to come into it, public access, public benefit… I think that’s a question for the future, I’m certainly not in a position to answer that today.’ 

The Trust, which is the custodian of more than 300 historic properties in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, published a 115-page report in September 2020 exploring historic links to slavery. 

A group of Conservative MPs were among those who condemned the report and called for the government to conduct a formal review. 

Earlier this year the Trust was accused of ‘distorting history’ when they rebranded Henry VIII as a ‘disabled king’ owing to his leg ulcers. 

They have also faced a backlash for introducing gender-neutral toilets at historic properties and asking staff members to wear gay pride badges. 

Olivieri said the Trust is ‘not bringing enough young people’ in and added that they are ‘doing more in urban areas and not just country houses’. 

A National Trust spokesman said: ‘Arts Council guidance recommends that museums should work towards establishing and publishing on their website a policy on restitution and repatriation. 

‘The National Trust does not yet have a policy but this is our intention, in line with the guidance. 

‘Currently, we would follow the Museums Association code of Ethics and the Arts Council Guidance on Restitution and Repatriation around any requests made.’

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