The Bank of England is launching the new polymer £50 note, which will feature codebreaker Alan Turing.

The bank also announced that paper £20 and £50 notes will be withdrawn next year.

30 September 2022 will be the last day Bank of England paper £20 and £50 notes can be used. After this date, they will no longer be legal tender.

The bank said that the new £50 note contains “advanced security features” which completes its most secure set of banknotes yet.

The note will join the Churchill £5, the Austen £10 and the Turner £20, meaning all Bank of England banknotes are now available on polymer.

“Our banknotes celebrate some of our country’s most important historical figures,” said the bank’s governor Andrew Bailey at Bletchley Park, where Turing carried out his famous codebreaking work. “That’s why I am delighted that Alan Turing features on the new polymer £50 note.”

Bailey added: “Having undertaken remarkable codebreaking work here at Bletchley Park during the Second World War, he went on to pioneer work on early computers, as well as making some ground-breaking discoveries in the field of developmental biology. He was also gay and was treated appallingly as a result. Placing him on this new banknote is a recognition of his contributions to our society, and a celebration of his remarkable life.”

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