The portrait of Jane Austen which appears on new polymer £10 notes has provoked outrage for having been “airbrushed.”

The new notes feature the Sense and Sensibility author in a portrait painted by her nephew after her death, in which she appears noticeably prettier and less drawn than in the only contemporary painting which exists.

Lucy Worsley, the TV presenter and historian, told The Sunday Times: "It's deeply ironic that the image chosen by the Bank of England isn't really her... It's an author publicity portrait after she died in which she's been given the Georgian equivalent of an airbrushing.”