‘Andrew Loukes believes his treatment illustrates that redundancies at the National Trust were “an opportunity to remove staff whose faces were perceived as a problematic fit”’, the Sunday Telegraph reports.

‘Sir Nicholas Penny, former director of the National Gallery, accused the trust of using the pandemic as the “perfect cover” to get rid of “troublesome experts who actually know about the history”.

Mr Loukes agrees that the redundancies were “an opportunity to remove staff whose faces were perceived as a problematic fit” and says his treatment illustrates that.

He joined the Trust from roles at the Tate Britain and Manchester Art Gallery and had been House and Collections Manager at Petworth since 2009. It was announced his role was at risk in August 2020 and he was invited to apply for the new role of property curator.

He interviewed as the sole candidate but was told that he did not have “sufficient curatorial capability” for the job, which was on the same pay scale and incorporating many of the same duties as his old one.

Mr Loukes, whose family home on the grounds of Petworth House in West Sussex came with the job, was shocked. He had organised “ambitious art exhibitions” that were a first for the trust and had achieved both national acclaim and clear profits of around £1million.

This was unusual, he said, particularly in a property where he had seen hundreds of thousands of pounds spent on projects which had amounted to virtually nothing.

An internal appeal found that his interview had produced a “perverse outcome” and the decision was overturned.

But to his “amazement”, despite addressing all the negative feedback, he failed a second interview, scoring even lower marks. This time, he was told that he was not capable of attracting “new and different audiences”.

Lord and Lady Egremont immediately employed him as the curator of the private, much larger, collection at Petworth and found his family new accommodation within the grounds.

But he is “utterly baffled” as to why he was treated in this way, particularly as his redundancy came at a “considerable financial cost to the National Trust because of my substantial settlement”.

Restore Trust, a member campaign group, have accused the charity of favouring “visitor experience” and money-making over arts and heritage.

A National Trust spokesman said: “We have made it crystal clear that curatorial standards remain a top priority for us.”’