THE National Gallery cynically announced its new director on Budget day to bury criticism of its unpopular privatisation plans, Civil Service union PCS said yesterday.

Madrid’s Prado museum director Gabriele Finaldi was formally appointed as striking gallery workers received a message of solidarity from students occupying the London School of Economics (LSE) over its own marketisation agenda.

Mr Finaldi replaces Nicholas Penny, who has so far refused to back down over plans to outsource security and visitor services roles to a private company.

“This looks like a cynical move by the gallery to try to bury this news on Budget day, to avoid having to focus on ongoing strikes over privatisation,” said PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka.

“Now the new director has been confirmed, we call on the gallery to halt their plans and allow us time to present our proposals for an in-house option to him.”

Speaking from the LSE barricades yesterday morning, postgraduate student Matt said that students should support any workers fighting privatisation.

“We see [the issues behind the occupation] as a factor and strategy from management and government not just in universities, but across public-sector and private-sector workplaces,” he said.

“We need to defend public institutions and intellectual endeavour.

“The struggle against privatisation at the National Gallery is intimately connected with the students’ struggle for a different kind of society.”

On Tuesday the gallery workers will finish their fourth stint of strike action this year.