LONDON (AP) — A charity connected to the wealthy Sackler family has paused new donations because of controversy over alleged links to the U.S. opioid crisis.

The chair of the Sackler Trust, Theresa Sackler, said in a statement Monday that media attention about legal cases in the U.S. is piling pressure on institutions supported by the trust, distracting them from their work. The trust has donated millions of pounds in the U.K.

The decision comes days after the Tate group of galleries in Britain said it wouldn't accept further donations and the National Portrait Gallery said a 1 million-pound ($1.3 million) gift wouldn't proceed.

The Sackler family owns Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma, which has been accused of downplaying the addictiveness of painkiller OxyContin.

Theresa Sackler rejected "false accusations" against Purdue and the family.