Elgin Marbles could be loaned to Greece indefinitely under MPs' plans
Greece and the British Museum are locked in a stalemate in talks over a potential deal that would see the ancient sculptures returned to Athens.
Limited by legislation, the best the British Museum chairman George Osborne can offer the Greek government is a three-year loan.
This will not be countenanced by Greek leaders who claim that the Marbles were stolen by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, and are in effect illegally held in the UK.
Parliamentarians sympathetic to the Greek cause are hoping to alter existing laws to pave the way for an 'indefinite loan' currently barred by UK law.
This would allow the British Museum to 'loan' the Marbles to Greece without having to renounce ownership of the sculptures that once adorned the Parthenon.
Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George is leading efforts in the Commons to have the Marbles returned.
He told the Telegraph that he hopes to 'get parliamentary draughtsmen to look at the way we could bring in a statutory instrument to address it'.
Mr George said that tweaking UK law would give the British Museum more freedom and make it easier to reach a deal over the Marbles, which Mr Osborne has advocated.
The MP said: 'We have fertile ground in George Osborne and the trustees of the British Museum.'
The British Museum is prevented by British Museum Act 1963 from disposing of objects in its collection, which is held for the public, and it therefore lacks the power to hand over the Elgin Marbles.
It can offer a loan, but this would necessitate Greece accepting Britain's legal ownership, and the eventual need to return what had been loaned.
The Greek position is that the Marbles were stolen, and that the statues, plaques and sections of frieze designed by Phidias should be permanently returned to Athens.
The UK government has said it will not change the British Museum act, resulting in a stalemate between all parties.
Chris Bryant, the art minister, has been adamant that the three-year loan option is the only currently available legal means by which the Marbles could ever end up in Greece.
However, MPs and former peers, including Lord Vaizey and Baroness Debbonaire, hope that they can push for changes to the Export Control Act 2002.
This limits the loan of cultural artefacts to three years, but by tweaking to allow for indefinite periods, MPs hope to create a backdoor to permanently exporting the Marbles without becoming embroiled in the legality of ownership.
This plan would require Parliamentary support to introduce a statutory instrument, and on the Greek government accepting a permanent return deal under the guise of a 'loan'.
The British Museum will soon need somewhere to store the marbles as it begins work o a major restoration of its western galleries, where the artworks are held, and campaigners feel that it is the pert time to reach and agreement with Greece
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
23 minutes ago
- The Independent
Awful mistake sees Air India victims' families receive wrong remains
British families of victims from deadly Air India flight 171 say they have received wrongly identified bodies due to a bungled repatriation scheme. A lawyer representing the bereaved said that some families were forced to abandon funeral plans after discovering the coffins contained different, unidentified remains. In some instances, multiple victims' remains were reportedly placed into a single coffin, requiring separation before burial or cremation. The misidentification came to light when Dr Fiona Wilcox, a senior coroner, attempted to verify identities using DNA matching with family samples. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to discuss these errors with Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during the latter's state visit to the UK.
The Independent
23 minutes ago
- The Independent
London's status as financial hub ‘fragile', warns Goldman Sachs boss
David Solomon, Goldman Sachs ' chairman and chief executive, has warned that London 's status as a global financial hub is "fragile" due to Brexit. He said that Goldman Sachs is diverting staff from London to rival European cities such as Frankfurt and Munich, noting a significant increase in personnel in Paris. Mr Solomon said that financial talent is now more mobile and firms like Goldman Sachs are establishing larger offices across various European locations. He cautioned Chancellor Rachel Reeves against further tax hikes, particularly on the wealthy, suggesting such policies could deter talent and harm the UK economy. Home Office Minister Seema Malhotra attributed damage to Britain's economic reputation and investor confidence to the premiership of Liz Truss. Brexit has left City of London's reputation at risk, Goldman Sachs chief warns
The Independent
23 minutes ago
- The Independent
UK admits foreign aid cuts could see deaths rise – with Africa hardest hit
The government has admitted that slashing foreign aid spending will likely see global deaths rise – as it confirmed the cuts will fall disproportionately on women and girls' education and on projects across Africa. Its own assessment of the cuts' impact said: 'Any reductions to health spending risk an increase in disease burden and ultimately in deaths, impacting in particular those living in poverty, women, children and people with disabilities.' 'The world's most marginalised communities, particularly those experiencing conflict and women and girls, will pay the highest price for these political choices,' said Gideon Rabinowitz, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Bond, the UK network for international development organisations. 'At a time when the US has gutted all gender programming, the UK should be stepping up, not stepping back.' The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in its annual report published on Tuesday set out cuts of £575 million in 2025 to 2026, The government is cutting aid spending by 40 per cent in total, from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income or roughly £6 billion by 2027, meaning the deepest cuts are still to come. The report confirmed the UK will send £1.8bn to the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) - providing grants and low-interest loans to low-income countries – in part of a shift in funding towards big multi-country spending programmes including the global vaccine alliance Gavi. This means less money going from the UK directly to projects in specific countries. The African region has been disproportionately hit by cuts, while the Americas, Europe and Indo-Pacific regions all saw increases in their budgets, said Ian Mitchell, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development. "Despite making cuts of roughly half a billion pounds, it's encouraging to see that the government is prioritising multilateral spend and honouring its pledge to the World Bank. Yet, it is unfortunate that Africa – home to over two-thirds of those in extreme poverty – will receive under half of FCDO's country and regional budget,' he said. 'If the government is to achieve its manifesto mission to tackle poverty, it will need to focus its budget where poverty exists and give African countries greater priority in its subsequent allocations.' Mr Rabinowitz said while he welcomed the consistent funding for certain humanitarian crises, vaccines and the World Bank, 'it is clear that the government is deprioritising funding for education, gender and countries experiencing humanitarian crises such as South Sudan , Ethiopia and Somalia.' While the government has committed to protecting spending for Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine, other crisis-hit countries significant cuts, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The plans also see a halving in spending on girls' education as well as reductions in spending on women's health, including sexual and reproductive health, and health emergencies. Leading charities have previously raised the alarm that programmes supporting girls and women would be in the firing line. The UK has been a leader in funding sexual and reproductive health including family planning, and the withdrawal of the US from funding these services has left a huge gap. It remains to be seen whether key programmes increasing access to contraception around the world like the Women's Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) initiative will be protected. While the government's own impact assessment makes it clear that, where cuts fall, they will negative impacts on equality, the report claimed overall spending demonstrated, 'disproportionate impacts on equalities have been avoided', Minister for Development Baroness Jenny Chapman said: "We are modernising our approach to international development. Every pound must work harder for UK taxpayers and the people we help around the world and these figures show how we are starting to do just that through having a clear focus and priorities. 'The UK is moving towards a new relationship with developing countries, becoming partners and investors, rather than acting as a traditional aid donor. We want to work with countries and share our expertise – from world leading science to the City of London - to help them become no longer dependent on aid, and organisations like the World Bank and Gavi are central to how we can work with others to solve some of the biggest challenges of our time: humanitarian disasters, pandemics and the climate crisis.'
