On 5 June 2024 and 13 September 2016, a new polymer note was introduced, featuring the images of King Charles III and the late Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and a portrait of Winston Churchill on the reverse.

The old paper note, first issued in 2002 and bearing the image of prison reformer Elizabeth Fry on the reverse,[1] was phased out and ceased to be legal tender after 5 May 2017.

[5] The Restriction Period ended in 1821 as the Government had to anchor the value of the currency to gold in order to control sharply rising inflation and national debt.

The first two-sided £5 notes (series B) were blue and featured a bust of Britannia on the front and a lion on the back.

From 1971 onward, with the introduction of series D, a British historical figure was portrayed on the reverse: the soldier and statesman the Duke of Wellington in this case.

The Bank said the move was a "precautionary measure while we carry out further tests and investigative work into what might have caused the fault and how widespread the problem is".

The bank consequently did rigorous testing and found the problem to be that the serial numbers were printed over the varnish rather than under it allowing the ink to be removed if enough force was applied.

A spokesman for the Bank of England said: "The notes are still legal tender and the public shouldn't have a problem spending them in the shops.

[23] According to an online petition on this issue, this is unacceptable to vegans, vegetarians, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Jews and other groups in the UK,[24] and one Cambridge cafe boycotted the new note.

[22] The Bank of England is responsible for printing and issuing notes to ensure a smooth monetary supply across the United Kingdom.