Last year, the inventor of the notes hit back at the protestors, branding them “absolutely stupid” in a radio interview.

Professor David Solomon, an Australian inventor who pioneered the country’s polymer notes back in 1988, admitted to Australian radio show 2GB that there were “trivial amounts” of animal fat in the notes.

And discussing the fast-growing petition to have the animal fat removed, he said of protesters, “it’s stupid. It’s absolutely stupid.”

Solomon went on to list the benefits of the new polymer notes over the traditional paper ones, citing hygiene and the environment as main reasons for the switch-over.

“It picks up less drugs than paper notes and you don’t chop down trees,” he told the station. “It’s more hygenic than a paper note by a long way.”

Images: Rex Features

This is why people are so angry about the new £10 note