Finally, the man in overall charge of Bradford’s National Media Museum uttered the words that seem to have been so difficult for him to say: the museum is safe.

The shame of it is that it was only when quizzed by a committee of MPs that he was finally able to confirm what everyone has hoped for since it was first reported that the feared cuts to its budget would be around five per cent rather than the ten per cent many expected.

There have been numerous opportunities for Science Museum Group director Ian Blatchford to reassure the city its prized asset would not be closing; instead he chose to wait until he was asked directly in a parliamentary committee, prolonging the agony.

It has been quite clear for at least two weeks that the Government was not going to let the museum close, but by refusing to confirm that it was safe, Mr Blatchford left a seed of doubt in everyone’s mind. And who knows when that doubt would have been removed if local MPs Gerry Sutcliffe and Philip Davies hadn’t forced a session of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, of which they are both members, to look at the future of the Science Museum Group’s facilities in the North.

What is important now, though, is looking forward, and using this scare as a wake-up call to all concerned. The threat of closure was real, and would have happened if the Government had imposed the ten per cent cut level. The campaign of the people of Bradford, through the Telegraph & Argus, made clear there would be a political cost if this happened.

Now, the voice that has been raised to support this jewel in the city’s crown must continue to be heard, and help to make the museum a success.

Otherwise, we may find ourselves fighting for its future once again just a short way down the line.