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Author outcry over British Council plans
Authors are in uproar over the British Council's plans to stop promoting British culture across Europe in favour of the Middle East, reports the Observer. The refocus has seen "8,000 books-the entire literary heritage of the British Council in Greece-carted off to the English department of Athens University" as funding of EU countries is reduced by £20m. The sum is being reallocated to the Middle East as "the council attempts to bridge the 'widening gap of trust' between the UK and Muslim states".
Authors are "appalled". "This whole policy is misconstrued from top to bottom,' complains Charles Arnold-Baker, author of The Companion to British History. 'We are going somewhere where we can't succeed and neglecting our friends in Europe who wish us well. The only people who are going to read our books in Beirut or Baghdad are converts already."
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