What lies behind BP's very public sponsorship of the arts, I wonder? Is it a selfless desire to spread a little cultural enlightenment down into the ranks of the great British public? Or could it be simply a cynical mechanism to distract attention from the company's terrible record on environment, climate change, and human rights issues?

Last Monday Tate Britain's summer party to celebrate 20 years of BP sponsorship- the wisdom of which was the subject of aninteresting debate on that morning's Today programme between former Arts Council boss Sir Christopher Frayling and our very own Charlie Kronick.

Later in the day the event itself was disrupted by protestors smearing oil-like goo at the gallery's entrance, demanding that it cut its ties with the disgraced oil giant following the ongoing disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.