Celebrities, academics and politicians have called on the Government to save some of Britain’s leading museums from the axe.

They spoke out after the boss of the Science Museum group confirmed that one of its three museums in the North - the National Rail Museum in York, the National Media Museum in Bradford and the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester - could have to close.

The threat - first revealed by the Daily Mirror - comes as The National Museums of Liverpool also warned it was facing severe cuts.

Its branches include the world-famous Walker Art Gallery, the World Museum, the Museum of Liverpool, the Merseyside Maritime Museum, the International Slavery Museum and the Lady Lever Art Gallery.

Dr David Fleming, Director National Museums Liverpool, said: “The funding situation is very bad and it’s getting worse.

"It is not possible to make the required savings without taking action that will have a significant impact on our visitors and staff. We will continue to look at alternatives but job losses are unavoidable.

“We will try to keep our museums open to the public.

"But it is with immense regret that we are considering closure of display galleries, fewer exhibitions, and admission charges for special exhibitions and events.”

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The head of the Science Museum Group, Ian Blatchford, said that with a “very heavy heart” he was having to look at shutting one of the its northern museums because of government cuts.

“Cuts at this level will mean that we will again need to make savings across the whole Group, this includes the Science Museum in London and each of our sister museums in the north. I would rather have three world class museums than four mediocre museums,” he said.

Mr Blatchford said the Science Museum had seen its budget slashed by 25% in real terms in the last four years and was braced for further cuts when George Osborne unveiled his spending plans for 2015-16 later this month.

“We are investigating a range of options but if an additional 10% cut is made when the spending review is announced at the end of this month, there would be little choice other than to close one of our museums, since our structural deficit would rise from £2 million to £6 million,” he said.

He denied the museum sector was “shroud waving”.

“This isn’t some kind of fate exercise. This is a very real threat,” he said.

TV scientist Prof Brian Cox said he was concerned about the threat to the Museum of Science and Industry.

“If the threat to our museums is real (I cannot believe it is) it demonstrates reckless disregard for our future for short term financial ‘gain’,” he tweeted.

Comedian Chris Addison also spoke out against any plans to close MOSI. He said he “loved it as a kid and my kids love it now.”

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Manchester MP Graham Stringer, who was leader of the council when MOSI opened, said it was appalling that the north of England was bearing the brunt of the cuts.

“I am appalled at the idea we will end up with only museums in London.

"Something like 90% of the funding for art galleries and museums goes into London already,” he said.

Museum bosses warned other national attractions were under threat.

“All the national museums are experiencing similar levels of cuts over the next couple of years and are anticipating another round of cuts in the spending review.

“It’s undoubtedly the case that as a result of these cuts museums will scale back operations,” said Maurice Davies of the Museums Association.

He added: “This is an alarming demonstration of the very real effect that cuts can have on service delivery.

"It shows the complete nonsense of early claims by the government that cuts wouldn’t affect front-line services

Shadow Culture Minister Dan Jarvis MP said: “Museums are a very important part of the heritage of our towns and cities and add huge value to the regional economies.

“The government must do all that it can to protect them as key cultural and educational centres.

“In office, Labour introduced free museum entry which has meant millions more people have benefited from the experience of visiting a museum.

“This Government is now placing all of that at risk - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

“Any government which fails to recognise the importance of museums as a key part of our nations heritage - as a vital tool for commemorating our history is intellectually and morally bankrupt.”

A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said it would be inappropriate to speculate on the outcome of the Spending Review.

He said: “This is an operational matter for the Science Museum Group who has to address a large projected operating deficit from 2014 onwards and is assessing a range of options to address this situation”.

An online petition has been launched urging the Government to stop the closure of the Science Museum’s northern branches.

The change.org/SMG petition says the museums offer an essential educational service, educating the young and old on industrial and scientific changes.

A petition has also been launched by our sister website the Manchester Evening News.