[ISN] UK Snubs Support For Home of WWII Enigma

http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/news/uk-snubs-support-for-home-of-wwii-enigma--939

By Andrew Donoghue
eWEEK Europe
20-05-2009

Government refuses to upgrade wartime code-breaking site Bletchley Park
- which had a visit from actor and techno-phile Stephen Fry

The UK government has pushed back on requests that a historic site used 
by Britain's top code-breakers during World War II should be elevated to 
the same status as the Imperial War Museum.

Responding to a question from Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall, whose 
parents met while stationed at the Bletchley Park site during the war, 
the deputy chief whip of the House of Lords, Lord Davies of Oldham said 
that while the government was keen to support the site, there would be 
no moves to link the site to the Imperial War Museum.

"We have no plans at present to associate it with the Imperial War 
Museum," Lord Davies said. "The House is all too well aware of the 
significance of designating any area in association with a museum of 
that rank, but I want to give an assurance that Bletchley Park will 
continue to develop under the resources made available to it."

Bletchley Park, home to UK code-breakers such as Alan Turing is being 
preserved as a museum, but has been facing a funding crises of late. It 
was recently awarded around £600,000 by Milton Keynes Council and 
English Heritage, as well as a further £100,000 by IBM and PGP.

The issue of whether the Bletchley site should receive the same status 
as the Imperial War museum was raised by Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, 
who also admitted to an interest in this site.

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