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Labour MP Dawn Butler and author Grace Blakeley are among those who have withdrawn from scheduled appearances at Hay festival over its sponsorship by investment management firm Baillie Gifford.
Butler said in a video posted to X that she was withdrawing from the literary festival because Baillie Gifford is âinvolved directly or indirectly in technology and arms in Israelâ.
Writers Noreen Masud and AK Blakemore, climate activist Tori Tsui and comedian Ania Magliano have also withdrawn from the festival, which begins on Thursday. Blakemore said that the publishing industry âshouldnât be used to garner prestige by companies that profit from fossil fuels or the ongoing assault on Palestineâ.
More than 600 writers and publishing industry professionals have signed a statement by campaign group Fossil Free Books (FFB) which demands Baillie Gifford âdivest from the fossil fuel industry and from companies that profit from Israeli apartheid, occupation and genocideâ.
FFB said that it fully supports authors who âwish to take action at Baillie Gifford-sponsored festivals, as well as those who withdraw or decline their invitationsâ. As well as Hay, the company also sponsors Edinburgh international book festival, Cheltenham literature festival and the Baillie Gifford prize for non-fiction. Edinburgh book festival has confirmed that both Blakemore and Masud were invited but neither will be appearing.
âLike so many charities, we are operating amongst huge financial uncertainty. Sponsorship is a complex ethical space to navigate,â said Hay CEO Julie Finch in a statement. âIn all of our funding agreements, we maintain editorial independence.â
According to FFBâs statement, Baillie Gifford has between ÂŁ2.5bn and ÂŁ5bn invested in the fossil fuel industry and nearly ÂŁ10bn in companies with links to Israelâs defence, tech and cybersecurity industries, including Nvidia, Amazon and Alphabet.
Baillie Gifford said that it is a large investor in multinational technology companies such as Amazon, Nvidia and Meta âthat have commercial dealings with the state of Israel that are tiny in the context of their overall businessâ. It also said that it is a small investor in three companies identified as having âconnections to the Israeli state or activities in the occupied territoriesâ, and that Baillie Gifford has been âengagingâ with those companies.
âWe are not a significant fossil fuel investor,â the company added. âOnly 2% of our clientsâ money is invested in companies with some business related to fossil fuels. This compares to the market average of 11%â.
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Anna Frame, communications director at Canongate Books, who recently joined the Edinburgh festivalâs board, said in a post on X that finding festival funding is âhardâ and that the money âhas to come from somewhereâ. Baillie Gifford âare one of the relatively few companies with cash that are also at least trying to do betterâ.
âWe desperately need a broader discussion about the abysmal state of arts funding in this country,â she added. âIf you feel the better option is for these festivals to close down than take money from BG, thatâs a fair position to take, though I disagree.â
Source: theguardian.com