Plastic £5 banknote unveiled

Mark Carney, has formally unveiled the Bank of England’s first plastic banknote, the new Five Pound featuring Sir Winston Churchill.

Launching the note at Blenheim Palace, birthplace and ancestral home of the late wartime leader, Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, said the new polymer note was a major innovation and was cleaner, safer and longer-lasting than paper.

At a cost of 7.4p a note, the new five pound is about twice as expensive to produce as the paper note but will cost less over time according to the Bank because it will last on average around five years – two-and-a-half times longer. The longer life makes them more environmentally friendly, too, the Bank claims. They are almost impossible to tear, meaning there will be no longer any need to patch a torn note back together with sticky tape.“It is stronger than paper and can better withstand being repeatedly folded into wallets or scrunched up inside pockets. Polymer notes can survive a splash of Claret, a flick of cigar ash, the nip of a bulldog, and even a spin in the washing machine afterwards to boot.”

It will be introduced into circulation from 13 September, with 440 millions recyclable notes rolling off the presses and distributed at cash machines around the country. The event was attended by members of Churchill’s family, including his grandson Sir Nicholas Soames and granddaughter Celia Sandys. In choosing Churchill for the new note, the Bank was commemorating the former prime minister’s “bulldog spirit”, Carney said. “Churchill was not just a martial leader – though he was an exceptional one – he was also one of the greatest statesmen of all time.”