Enid Blyton 50p coin stopped by Royal Mint over author’s ‘racist and homophobic’ views
Bosses claimed Famous Five creator was ‘not a very well-regarded’ person
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Plans to give Enid Blyton a commemorative coin were stopped because the author is known to have had “racist, sexist and homophobic” views.
The Royal Mint revealed that plans to put the face of the beloved children’s writer on a 50p coin were blocked over fears it would provoke a backlash,
According to the Mail Online, members of the group said that the creator of The Famous Five, Noddy and The Secret Seven was “a racist, sexist, homophobe and not a very well-regarded writer”.
Minutes taken at the meeting that saw the plans discussed have been obtained under the freedom of information act.
The coin was would have been released in November 2018 to commemorate 50 years since the best-selling author’s death.
The decision to stop its release has been debated on Good Morning Britain, which saw Richard Madeley criticise the action.
“It seems to me that if you were to draw a line in the year say 1955 and go backwards from there you could pretty much pick up anybody based on our modern values,” he said.
The host added: “There are social lines that have changed and you can’t judge people by the standards of today, so actually I think personally to call Enid Blyton homophobic is ridiculous.”
A spokeswoman for the Royal Mint said: “The point of the advisory committee is to ensure that themes commemorated on UK coins are varied, inclusive and represent the most significant events in our history.
“For these reasons not every event will progress to a UK coin.”
The Royal Mint has been contacted for additional comment.
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