Instead of Churchill, a barn owl will appear on British money

The Bank of England has named four animals whose images will replace ex-Prime Minister Winston Churchill and other famous Britons on the £5, £10, £20 and £50 banknotes. This is stated in the regulator's message.

The money will now feature an Atlantic puffin, a barn owl, a ground bumblebee and a European hedgehog, rather than Churchill, painter William Turner, writer Jane Austen and mathematician Alan Turing. The new banknote design itself is promised to be published later.

Almost 500 thousand survey participants who chose the specified animals in order to replace people on banknotes voted on a list that included 18 options. The Central Bank compiled it together with a group of British wildlife experts.

Last year, the Bank of England held a public consultation on the redesign of banknotes and found that the nature theme was the most popular among the 44,000 responses received, while the option with historical figures remained in third place. Representatives of the regulator explained that they were looking for images that would symbolize Great Britain without causing controversy in society.