An encouraging reply from the Bank of England

We have received a response from the Bank of England following our submission of the People’s Red Squirrel Banknote Collection and Little Red’s six Ambassadors, and there is some encouraging news to share.

The Bank has confirmed that our Collection has now been sent to its Banknote Imagery Team.

It also told us:

“The competition entries are remarkable and showcase how important the red squirrel is to the UK.”

As expected, the Bank reiterated that the red squirrel was excluded from the shortlist for the principal wildlife images because it already features on the Royal Bank of Scotland’s £20 note.

But importantly, that isn't quite the end of the story.

The Bank confirmed:

“We are still in the process of designing the background and have not made a decision on which other elements from nature will feature on the banknotes.”

And that is exactly where our request comes in.

We have asked for Britain’s native red squirrel to be considered for inclusion within that supporting wildlife and nature imagery.

There are no guarantees, of course. But thanks to everyone who contributed to the Collection, our reds have reached the Banknote Imagery Team while those background designs are still being developed.

That is probably the best response we could reasonably have hoped for at this stage.

Thank you again to everyone who submitted one of our 487 entries, and to the more than 110,000 people who continue to stand behind Save Our Reds.

Whatever happens next, you helped us put the red squirrel back in the picture. Now we very much hope the Bank might do the same.

See the People’s Red Squirrel Banknote Collection and Little Red’s Ambassadors here:

https://saveourreds.uk/the-peoples-red-squirrel-banknote-collection

One small thing you can do to help

Our petition has now passed 110,000 signatures, but after such an extraordinary response, the number of new signatures has begun to slow again.

If you believe Britain should do more to protect its remaining red squirrels, please share this petition with just one person today.

Every new signature strengthens the public voice behind the work we are taking forward. If everyone who reads this introduces just one more person to the campaign, imagine how much further that voice could travel.

Thank you for continuing to stand up for our reds. 🐿️