Artist Removes Churchill Video After Gallery Dispute Over Famine Claims

Helen Cammock withdrew her 40-minute video *The Persistence* from the National Portrait Gallery on 23 June following criticism that it claims Churchill deliberately starved Bengal during the 1943 famine. A Churchill biographer contested the assertion publicly on 15 June. The episode illustrates how museums balance artistic freedom against institutional risk when commissioning works that make contested historical claims about major figures.