George Osborne clashed with No 10 over selection of British Museum director

The former chancellor George Osborne has been the chair of the British Museum since 2021. Photograph: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

Rishi Sunak’s government has clashed with George Osborne over an attempt to interfere in the appointment of a new director of the British Museum, of which the former chancellor is chair.

The museum, which has been beset by a scandal about the suspected theft of 1,800 artefacts from its collection, appointed the National Portrait Gallery head, Nicholas Cullinan, as its new director in late March.