'This is the most ridiculous tweet I've read all day.'

The National Trust (NT) gave away 50,000 family passes this week. Instead of celebrating the offer that enables families to enjoy the spring at more than 500 of the charity’s properties for free, National Trust cynics were quick to denounce it.

On May 1, Zewditu Gebreyohanes, former director of Restore Trust, the opaquely funded, ‘anti-woke’ pressure group set up to lobby for the National Trust to “reclaim its mission” and change the charity’s direction, tweeted:

“Funny how the @nationaltrust claimed a few days ago to be unable to afford to “run a beacon lighting event at Dunstable Downs to mark the 80^th anniversary of D-Day” (it reversed its position thanks to public pressure), but today it can afford to give out 50,000 free passes!”

The conservation charity had previously said it would not be able to light a beacon to mark the D-Day landings in Dunstable Downs in Bedfordshire where a key decision was made about the mission because of costs.

The Trust had said: “Whilst the offer from Dunstable Town Council to contribute towards the costs for this event is greatly appreciated, the additional funds and staffing required to put on a lighting event of this size, safely, is not something we’re currently able to achieve as a charity, alongside our other events and conservation work.”

The charity later updated its statement, saying it was working to see whether there was “more we can do to make it possible to light the beacon safely.”

A NT spokesperson said it needed “partners locally to help” and it would “need the support of third parties to ensure the safe running of an event of this scale, given the very small team in the local area.”

The Trust said it would “never forget the sacrifice made on D-Day or the selfless courage of the veterans of Normandy,” and later announced it would light the memorial beacon, confirming it had secured the funds and external support needed to put on the event.

But for Gebreyohanes, the U-turn was a chance to have a dig at the charity and accuse it of some sort of double standards.

The former Restore director’s post on X was mocked, with onlookers pointing to the odd comparison of the D-Day event reversal and the giving away of 50,000 free passes to National Trust venues.  

“They decided free passes to widen awareness of the National Trust is better use of money than running a small event about a not-major anniversary of WW2. Don’t play the patriotism card please, now the Tories are more famous for enriching themselves at the UK’s national expense!” was one response.

“Putting on an event costs money, allowing free entry doesn’t. They are not comparable,” someone else wrote, which was echoed by another X user, who wrote:

“Giving out free passes doesn’t cost anything and encourages people to join.”

“This is the most ridiculous tweet I’ve read all day,” was another comment.

Zewditu Gebreyohanes stood down as director of Restore Trust in November, following the NT’s annual general meeting (AGM). The three councillors and two resolutions put forward by Restore Trust were rejected by members. Gebreyohanes said she was leaving to focus on her position as a senior researcher at the Legatum Institute, the influential right-wing think-tank that pushes for a free-market pro-Brexit vision.

2023’s failed attempt to wrest control of the National Trust followed a similar campaign the previous year, when Restore Trust also failed to get enough votes at the charity’s annual general meeting to have its candidates elected, or to pass its resolutions on the Trust’s governance.

The consecutive fails came despite the group receiving support from high-profile figures on the Right of UK politics, including Nigel Farage and Jacob Rees-Mogg. The lobby group has also received comprehensive coverage in the right-wing press, principally the Telegraph and Daily Mail. The lobbyists have also raised eyebrows in relation to its board members. Neil Trust, for example, a founder and board member of the organisation, is a supporter of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, one of Britain’s most outspoken climate sceptic voices.

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