Elgin Marbles may become part of travelling cultural exhibition to Greece
Greek prime minister is “firmly convinced” the priceless Elgin Marbles will head back to Greece as talks continue with the British Museum to relinquish the fifth century artefacts.
Keir Starmer’s government appears poised to accede to one of the longest running diplomatic disputes - having the Elgin marbles head back to Greece.
On Tuesday Greece’s prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was in London and while the return of the Elgin marbles, also known as the Parthenon sculptures, was not officially on the agenda in talks with Sir Keir it was the number one issue on the sidelines.
Greek officials said the priceless treasures - 30 stone sculptures from the 5th century BC including the famous frieze of the Parthenon was a central reason for Mr Mitsotakis’ visit to the British capital.
“Of course we want them to return to Greece, they are Greek statues, they are ours and today our prime minister came here for the same reason,’’ a Greek official said.
Another Greek official told The Times: “Progress for the return of the marbles has been made by the two sides and that is why Mitsotakis is meeting today with the British prime minister. Nothing is in hiding. Nothing is hidden.”
Mr Mitsotakis has previously said having the marbles in London was like “cutting the Mona Lisa in half”.
Two days ago Mr Mitsotakis told Greek television: “I am firmly convinced that the friezes (marbles) will be returned. Discussions with the British Museum are continuing”.
Mr Mitsotakis and the Greek foreign minister George Gerapetritis have met with the British Museum chairman and former Tory chancellor George Osborne on several occasions this year.
The British Museum, which has cared for the Elgin marbles since 1816, has been in talks with the Greeks since 2021 about coming to an agreement to move the antiquities to Athens.
The British government would have to change a law to allow any permanent removal, but it has been reported that the two countries may have a series of exhibition exchanges.
The Tory shadow culture minister Saqib Bhatti said Sir Keir is set to cave in to the radical left and return the Elgin Marbles to Greece.
He said: “The marbles are protected by an act of Parliament - the PM needs to be clear that he will not allow the law to be changed and block any legal work around that might be devised to allow them to be taken out of this country.
“The Prime Minister should be standing up for Britain, our heritage, and our world-class cultural institutions instead of giving in to pressure from campaigners who detest British history.”
The ownership of the marbles has been a source of much tension from the moment Greece became an independent country from the Ottoman Empire in 1835.
Thomas Bruce, the 7th Lord Elgin, was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire and between 1801 and 1812 he removed the marbles and transported them using 170 crates. One ship even sunk and it took two years to salvage the cargo.
Lord Elgin said he had official permission to remove the marbles and the stones were sold to the British government in 1816.
Last year a meeting between Mr Mitsotakis and the then British prime minister Rishi Sunak was cancelled at the last minute because of tensions about ownership of the marbles.
The British Museum said talks on “a Parthenon partnership” were ongoing and constructive.
A spokesman for Sir Keir said any loaning of the Parthenon sculptures remains a matter for the British Museum. He said the government has no plans to change the law to permit a permanent move of the Parthenon sculptures.
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