Sir Keir Starmer‘s government is “open” to a deal over the Elgin Marbles with Greece, it has emerged.
The Prime Minister is to meet his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, next week when the future of the Parthenon sculptures is expected to be raised.
An ally of Sir Keir is quoted by the Financial Times as saying: “We are open to whatever is agreed. It’s right to say there is no strong view on what should happen.”
No.10 has said Sir Keir won’t alter legislation which prevents the British Museum, where the marbles are housed, from returning the sculptures.
Former chancellor, George Osborne, who chairs the British Museum, has made efforts to strike a deal with Athens which would see some of the ancient frieze loaned to the the Greek capital’s Acropolis Museum.
Greek officials have suggested the Elgin Marbles are expected to be raised with Sir Keir and they have adopted a “cautious but optimistic” position, according to the FT.
Pavols Marinakis, a Greek government spokesperson, told the same publication “reunification” of the sculptures is an “ongoing request” under discussion with the British Museum.
A formal request to return the Parthenon Marbles to Greece was first made in 1983 and there have been a number of discussions since.
Former prime minister, Rishi Sunak, cancelled a meeting with Mr Mitsotakis in November 2023 after the Greek leader raised the subject of the sculptures in an interview with the BBC.
The British Museum maintains that its trustees will consider any loan request, subject to its usual conditions, but none such has been made.
Created between 447BC and 432BC, the marbles show the procession of a festival commemorating the birth of the goddess Athena.
Lord Elgin, who was British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire of which Athens was a part, removed half the sculptures from the ruins of the Parthenon between 1801 and 1805, with permission from the Ottoman authorities.
A Parliamentary Select Committee investigated Elgin’s actions in 1816 and found the removal was legal. An Act of Parliament secured their entry into the British Museum.
The sculptures are housed in the museum’s Duveen Gallery, which is due to close for renovations next year, which raises the possibility of a potential loan being made around that time.
Greece’s Acropolis Museum, National Archaeological Museum and Museum of Cycladic Art have already been loaned items by the British Museum, according to the venue.