New £5 note kept in circulation with £10 polymer notes next
GETTY Bank of England will keep the new £5 note despite complaints about the use of animal fat
There will also be no change to the planned new £10 notes coming in to issue in September. The Bank confirmed an "extremely small amount" of tallow was used to produce polymer pellets, which were then used to create the material for the £5 note. Fury among vegetarians and vegans erupted following confirmation by the Bank that the notes contained tallow back in November.
The Bank has now concluded that it would be appropriate to keep the £5 polymer note in circulation Bank of England
More than 134,000 people have signed a petition against its use, with activists advocating for a more suitable alternative. Bank of England bosses could not confirm to Express.co.uk whether the tallow in the notes, which went into circulation in September, were made with animal fat which was Halal, or contained pork, making it a risk for Muslim and Jewish people. The use of animal products also go against strict Hindus and Buddhists, who observe Ahimsa, which means not to injure living things.
Trupti Patel, from the Hindu Forum of Britain, previously told Express.co.uk the notes were "totally and utterly unacceptable". The central bank said it had carefully considered alternative options - like destroying, reprinting and delaying the issue of the £10 note - but said it would be costly and compromise new anti-counterfeit measures. A statement from the Bank said: "Weighing the considerations below, the Bank has now concluded that it would be appropriate to keep the £5 polymer note in circulation and to issue the £10 polymer note as planned, in September." However, the Bank said it has held off signing supply contracts for the £20 polymer note, which is due to be released in 2020, in order to weigh plant-based substitutes like coconut oil or palm oil.
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GETTY More than 134,000 people have signed a petition against the use of the new fiver
It is launching a public consultation and will make a final decision on how £20 notes - and future runs of the £5 and £10 notes - will be manufactured by summer 2017. The Bank said it would have incurred major costs if it decided to destroy and reprint existing notes. It has already spent £24 million on printing 275 million new £10 polymer notes since production began in August. That is on top of the £46 million spent on printing the £5 note. Reprinting those notes using new materials would mean incurring those costs again, while destruction of those notes would cost a further £50,000.
GETTY The bank will also be releasing new £10 polymer notes