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A planned roundtable summit organised by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is raising concerns about the editorial integrity of England's museums and heritage sector.

The meeting on 23 February will bring together heads of 25 heritage bodies in England “to discuss contested heritage and how to put the ‘retain and explain’ policy into practice”.

Those expected to be present will include national museums, arm's length funding bodies and organisations such as the National Trust.

The UK Government has made a series of interventions around heritage issues since the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was pulled down in Bristol last June.

In October, culture secretary Oliver Dowden wrote to national museums and heritage bodies advising they should comply with the Government’s position on the issue of contested histories, with the implication that funding could be at risk if they didn't. 

Museums Association director Sharon Heal said: "We should ensure editorial integrity and resist attempts to influence content and interpretation by interest groups, including funders."

She added the association would “unreservedly support” decolonisation initiatives in the sector.