Lord Sumption has quit the board of the English National Opera over a plan to move out of London.

The U.K. Times is reporting that Sumtpion has quit due to the Arts Council U.K.’s decision to reduce funding for the ENO. In a statement, the former supreme court judge called the Arts Coucil a “philistine” organization and accused it of having “emasculated” the ENO by telling it to relocate within three years or face losing its £12 million funding.

In a letter Sumpton said, “that venues outside London would not draw the same audience numbers and accused Arts Council England of “forcing on ENO a model which, artistically and financially, is no more than a delayed death sentence.” He added, “ENO will become a mere brand-name for a fringe offering, a pale imitation of the real thing that we have been putting on in London for decades.”

The news comes after the Arts Council in November cut the opera’s £12.5 million annual subsidy entirely and said it had to move if it wanted to qualify for future grants. The decision created an outcry throughout the opera industry and the Arts Council decided to give funding to the company for the next fiscal year.