London’s Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum has been forced to apologise after a woman was told to “cover-up” while breastfeeding her child.
In a post on Twitter, the woman said she was “perplexed” over the incident, which took place during National Breastfeeding Week.
Her tweet has been retweeted more than 4,000 times and liked more than 8,000 times.
Pointing out the irony of the request at a museum which has many topless statues, the mother, tweeting as @vaguechera, posted a series of comical images.
Former Labour MP and museum director Tristram Hunt apologised for the incident on social media.
He said: “Our policy is clear: women may breastfeed wherever they like, wherever they feel comfortable.”
A spokesperson for the museum also responded on social media to the complaints, apologising for the incident.
The statement said: “Staff receive regular customer service training to provide the best care for our visitors. We’ll remind staff of our breastfeeding policy.”
The museum added: “We are investigating what happened but women are welcome to breastfeed in the museum & we have quiet spaces for those who prefer privacy.”