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More pressure on Tate's ties to BP

Gallery faces an information tribunal Thursday.

By Daniel J. Graeber

LONDON, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Tate Modern art gallery in London needs to come clean about its financial ties to British oil company BP, advocates said Monday.

"There's a great deal of public debate surrounding Tate's longstanding relationship with BP, a company associated with a long list of environmental, human rights and climate controversies," Kevin Smith, an oil sponsorship campaigner from Platform, said in a statement.

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Last week, more than 100 members of advocacy group Liberate Tate descended on the galleries of the Tate Modern in London to rally in response to a court ruling BP was "grossly negligent" in the events that led up to the 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

On Thursday, the gallery is scheduled to appear before a tribunal to answer questions related to how much money it receives from BP. The gallery gets less than 1 percent of its sponsorship directly from BP, though the advocates question the numbers available publicly.

Glen Tarman, an advocate who filed a Freedom of Information request against Tate, said gallery officials have worked to "censor" information about its "shady" relationship with BP.

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There was no public statement from BP. Tate said it couldn't comment on ongoing proceedings.

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