Rishi Sunak has vowed not to permanently return the Elgin Marbles to Greece as the British Museum mulls a deal that would see the sculptures shared between London and Athens.
Speaking on a visit to San Diego, the Prime Minister said that the ancient carvings are “a huge asset to this country” and pledged to keep hold of them for UK audiences.
He made the remarks with his close political ally George Osborne, the chairman of the British Museum, trying to put together a deal that will see them exhibited in both Britain and Greece.
“The UK has cared for the Elgin Marbles for generations. Our galleries and museums are funded by taxpayers because they are a huge asset to this country,” Mr Sunak said.
“We share their treasures with the world, and the world comes to the UK to see them. The collection of the British Museum is protected by law, and we have no plans to change it."
The marbles could only be permanently returned to Greece if an act of Parliament that protects their status in Britain was ripped up by MPs.
Whitehall sources have confirmed that the Government would also view any long-term loan as contrary to the spirit of that law.
The marbles, which Greece calls the Parthenon Sculptures, have long been a source of contention between London and Athens.
Last month Mr Osborne said he was optimistic that a “win-win” deal can be struck to see the sculptures displayed in both capital cities.
He said: “It’s a very hard problem to solve. But I think there is a way forward where these sculptures, the Elgin Marbles, the Parthenon Sculptures, could be seen both in London and in Athens, and that will be a win-win for Greece and for us.”
“We’re talking to the Greek government about that, about a new arrangement and what I didn’t want to do is force the Greeks to accept things that they find impossible, and equally they can’t force on us things that we would find impossible.”
A loan has been offered in the past, but this would require Greece to accept the British Museum’s legal ownership of the Marbles, something its government totally rejects as its position is that the artefacts were stolen by Lord Elgin in the early 18th century and therefore are not legally owned by the Museum.
Sources close to the Greek government have previously told the Telegraph that the British Museum and Greece are seeking to “invent” a new kind of deal which could sidestep this stalemate.
It is hoped that ongoing talks will produce “a hybrid form that would not include certain demands”, and therefore not cross either party’s “red lines”, and offer something approaching a “permanent” solution to the row which has raged since Greece gained independence in 1832.
It has been suggested by sources that this “hybrid” deal could involve essentially ignoring issues of ownership, with neither party forced to accept the other’s claims to the Marbles, and the British Museum allowing them to leave its Bloomsbury base without the usual guarantees.
Instead, artefacts shipped from Greece to London as part of this potential arrangement could “act as a kind of legal collateral”, with the British Museum holding a rotating array of Ancient Greek treasures as a security against its handover of the Elgin pieces.
The Parthenon and its surrounding complex are the focus of the Acropolis Museum in Athens, where Greek officials hope to reunite the Elgin pieces with the artworks which were left behind.
