The Guardian2 Jun 2026Macro
Automatically composed with AI from the cited sources
The Bank of England says the shortlist is primarily an anti-counterfeiting measure, designed to incorporate new security features into the £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes. A public consultation opens today and runs until 3 July, covering 18 native species grouped into mammals, birds, and amphibians/insects/fish; the chosen animals will replace existing portraits of Jane Austen, Winston Churchill and Alan Turing. Wildlife was the most popular theme in a prior consultation, and the Bank expects the designs to take some years before entering circulation.