The culture secretary has disowned a government advertising campaign that suggested ballet dancers could “reboot” their careers by retraining in IT.
Oliver Dowden distanced himself from an image used in the campaign and stressed it had not been produced by his department. Critics said it suggested that people in struggling arts industries hit by coronavirus should turn to work in the cyber sector.
The adverts carry the logo of CyberFirst, a programme to introduce people aged 11 to 17 to cybersecurity work. They feature people in sectors such as retail and construction but it was an image of a ballet dancer that caused controversy as it resurfaced this week.
The acclaimed choreographer Sir Matthew Bourne was among the first to pour scorn, tweeting: “This has
