The British Museum in London says it has “no intention” of removing controversial items it has on display.

The museum recently removed – only to re-display – a statue of its founder, Hans Sloane. Sloane was a wealthy physician and naturalist; whose collection of objects formed the nucleus of what became the British Museum. Sloane was intricately connected to the slave trade.

Despite receiving a letter from the government over the issue, the British Museum is refusing to remove certain artefacts, citing it could lose taxpayer support.

Other recipients of the government letter include the Tate, Royal Armouries, Imperial War Museums, National Portrait Gallery, Science Museum, V&A and National Museums Liverpool.

The government’s letter said: “It is imperative that you continue to act impartially, in line with your publicly funded status, and not in a way that brings this into question. This is especially important as we enter a challenging Comprehensive Spending Review, in which all government spending will rightly be scrutinised.”

In a statement, the British Museum said; “[It] has no intention of removing controversial objects from public display.”

“Instead, it will seek where appropriate to contextualise or reinterpret them in a way that enables the public to learn about them in their entirety.”