Greece claims ‘progress made’ on Elgin Marbles return – but Starmer won’t discuss with Greek PM

Sir Keir Starmer ruled out discussing a return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece in his meeting with his Greek counterpart on Tuesday despite claims from Athens that progress had been made on the issue.

While Downing Street insisted that the ancient sculptures would not be on the agenda for the bilateral meeting between the Sir Keir and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a Greek government official said progress has been made and it will be discussed further on Tuesday.

The Greek official told The Times: “Progress for the return of the Parthenon 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.”

But ahead of the meeting, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “It’s not going to be on the prime minister’s agenda. His focus will be on support for Ukraine, the urgent need for a ceasefire in Gaza.”

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The prime minister welcomed Mr Mitsotakis to No 10 on Tuesday morning, the Greek leader’s first official visit to the UK since a quarrel with Rishi Sunak’s government over the ancient marbles, also known as the Parthenon Sculptures.

Following the meeting, a Downing Street spokesperson stressed there has been “no change to the government’s position”, adding: “It is a matter for the British museum. The government has no plans to change the law that would permit a permanent move of the Elgin Marbles.”

A British Museum spokesperson said discussions with Greece about a Parthenon Partnership are “on-going and constructive.“

“We believe that this kind of long term partnership would strike the right balance between sharing our greatest objects with audiences around the world, and maintaining the integrity of the incredible collection we hold at the museum.”

Greece has long maintained that the Elgin Marbles were illegally removed from their place high atop Athens’ acropolis during a period of foreign occupation.

The government and the British Museum reject this characterisation.

It comes amid reports that ongoing talks about the future of the statues are now “well advanced”, citing sources close to the negotiations between the museum and the Greek Foreign Ministry.

A cultural partnership would be likely to be at the heart of a deal, The Guardian said, which could see the sculptures returned to Athens in exchange for exhibitions of famous artworks.

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The marble statues came from friezes on the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple and have been displayed at the British Museum for more than 200 years.

They were removed by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, when he was British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.

Some of the remaining temple statues are on display in the purpose-built Acropolis Museum in Athens, and Greece has long called for the collections to be reunited.

A diplomatic row between Greece and the UK was sparked under the previous government when former PM Mr Sunak cancelled a meeting with Mr Mitsotakis, who had made a push for the sculptures’ return.

Mr Sunak denied having thrown a “hissy fit” over the matter and accused his counterpart of grandstanding.

Mr Mitsotakis had compared splitting the Elgin Marbles from those still in Athens to cutting the Mona Lisa in half.